Papunika Story
by Komice M.N
Summary: The story follows lives of Dai's friends after the battle. Hyunkel, Marm, Leona, Pop, Larhalt, Avan, Menruru, Furora do the best to rebuild their kingdoms. Meanwhile, friendship and love blossom under the wind of changes in Papunika and other kingdoms.
1. Chapter 1 - Plant your own garden

**Chapter 1: Plant your own garden**

 **THE REJECTION**

Blooming gardens provide a backdrop to all breathtaking sceneries.

Beautiful drive ways heading to thousands of natural rendezvous are savoured in sweet scent of blossom.

Almost half of world's apples are produced here, along with apricots, plums, cherries and pears.

This is Papunika under the reign of Queen Leona. This is a kingdom of the most sophisticated, the most elegant.

It's a kingdom where Marm is currently residing. In the park of Papunika Central, she is waiting patiently for her appointment.

Marm is at her early twenty, kind-hearted and hot-tempered, stubborn and cheerful, a careful decision maker, a peace lover, she is a good example of people who can balance their lives.

From Marm's outlook you can instantly agree that she is beautiful. Her beauty is a harmony of angelic facial features, youthful energy, sensual body and a lovely smile that makes people forget anything but it.

She finally sees the familiar Pop running toward.

He makes it here after twenty five minutes being late.

In a romace relationship, while being punctual is not always required, being late for all the time is definitely a big No.

But it doesn't mean anything any longer. Marm has already given up getting mad at how he wastes her time this way.

Marm has no complains at all about Pop's outlook. He is fine to look at, his appearance is acceptable at all occasions. For Marm, that's all. No friends has ever seen Marm looking at Pop the way Menruru looks at a him.

"We would have some privacy here." Marm asks Pop to sit down next to her.

"Privacy?" Blood is rushing inside Pop. "Marm... this is a public area."

"It's less crowded, so we can talk..."

"Oh I see, you want to talk!" He smiles at himself.

In front of them is a small lake located inside the park. Some little ducks are swimming around and the mini waterfalls create a lively rhythm of water. Atmosphere is great here. Regadless of how pleasant the environment is, his intuition tells him the conversation may not be positive.

Marm places something in her hand. "I have thought carefully about our marriage and I'm sorry, very sorry." She says softly. Marm's voice is only soft for him when she is guilty.

He recognises the ring at one. It's exactly the engagement ring he gave her days ago. Worse than any of his predictions, this meeting is such a nightmare.

"Do you mean to have more time to persuade Mrs Rella? We can put the wedding on hold. I'm sure Menruru will support..."

"The decision is made by myself. I'm sorry. I have tried my best to response the way you want, but..."

She looks into his eyes and all she can see are his disappointments.

"No but." He doesnt touch the ring placed in her hands.

"It's very important for me to be honest to you."

"One day you are being honest and the other day, you change your mind. Have you thought carefully this time?"

She nods. Pop can't see any hesitation in her action.

And then that's the look in her eyes that is telling him her determination. _Why now?_ Pop is furious, yet he is doing the best to control his temper.

"Fine. Cancel the wedding." He takes the ring and stands up.

"I'm very sorry, Pop, I will..."

"It's enough, Marm."

That's the tone of voice when he gets angry. Marm has encountered a similar situation, at a much higher level.

"This is not a game. Why do you put a stop at this stage?"

"This is not a game for me neither."

"Then shall I know why?"

"I don't feel right about you, Menru and I getting married."

"I know you can get jealous..."

"Not about jealousy. I love seeing you and Menru together. It's myself who doesn't fit in."

"Menru likes you alot. She really wants to have a sister."

"I know you and Menru can't wait to tie the knot and build the family. I know the plan of you guys, but I seldom exist in that plan. You have not noticed that." She looks at Pop.

"It's true. I didn't realise.." Pop murmurs to himself. He walks to Marm and on a bent knee, he holds her hands, "Almost four years, that's the length of time I have been loving you, Marm."

She nods. Her dear friend, what is she going to do.

"But I love Menruru, too. I feel very happy spending time with her. Sorry that I overlook your feeling." He is still holding her hands tightly.

"It doesn't matter. Perhaps you have changed." Marm is doing her best to be not emotional.

"Can we... can we have a kiss ? Please."

 _A Kiss?_ Marm is surprised, unable to figure out how to response such a sudden request.

In her dream, she has kissed another person. Blood rushes to Marm's face when the image of that person comes to her mind.

Can't wait for Marm's answer, he pushes her down on the lawn and places a kiss.

However, Marm's body is stiff, just as her lips.

Marm feels nothing except the heaviness of Pop. Her lips are closed and she is holding her breath to not feel his smell.

"Sorry, so sorry." Pop quickly gets up. He finds himself in an awkward situation.

"Pop, please keep the ring." In the end, Marm repeats.

He picks it up from the grass and quietly leaves the place.

 **MARM'S SIDE**

"Are you fine, Marm?" Leona asks. Sitting next to her is Menruru. Both looks worried.

"I am. No worry about me. How is Pop now?"

"Not too bad." Menru says, trying to be sarcastic. Menruru would like to stand for Pop, however, she can't stop caring for Marm.

"Sorry, Menru."

"Don't be. Pop is just not expected the change in your decision."

"Nobody can expect this, my dear." Leona looks at Marm. "but to be honest, guys, I think the marriage is less complicated now."

"I understand." Menru agrees. "I'm here to see if Marm is fine because I don't know the reason of the cancellation. I'm...I'm not here to blame Marm."

"You can blame me, Menruru." Marm embraces her beautiful doed-eyes friend.

"I cannot and I won't." Menruru smiles. "I don't understand why do you make this decision but I don't get angry at you. I'm glad you are fine, Marm. Now I have to go back to take care of Pop."

Seeing Menruru's calmness, Marm is more justified that Menruru and Pop are perfect for each other.

"It's good to be honest to your feeling." Leona tells Marm after Menru has left. "From now on, I hope he will love Menru fully."

Marm knows what Leona says is correct. Feeling so tired, she leans on Leona's shoulder and admits, "I did a bad job in handling my relationships."

"Hyunkel is very concerned about you. On the contrary, Avan sensei and Fufu are taking it fairly... well."

Marm's cheeks turn red. "Hyunkel? Did he say anything?"

"I see now." Leona looks at Marm with a surprise, "You are not over Hyunkel, are you?"

The Queen of Papunika has already known the answer.

"If you are not over Hyunkel, you must not marry Pop, definitely. In my opinion, you and Hyunkel can really make a great couple! Even Avan sensei knows that you are his precious." Leona giggles.

"Sensei is wrong. Emmi is already there."

"Emmi is different."

"She is. She is his girlfriend and I'm not. Hyunkel means alot to me, but I can't support his relationship."

Leona sighs and slightly shakes her head. "You will never support Hyunkel's relationship, either it's with Emmi or not. Then why don't you confess to him and makes everything clear?"

Marm keeps quiet even she looks very unhappy. _This girl.._ Leona thinks, _can't believe she is such a shrinking violet._

"Don't be in a friend zone for too long if you don't see him as a friend. I have known Emmi since I was a teenager. She is an action person. She would like to move in with him."

"Move in...? So they have been living together?" Marm feels an immediate heartbreak inside. But on the contrary she doesn't remember seeing Emmi's belongings when she stayed in Hyunkel's house last night.

"Are you freaked out? I only said that she _would like to_. Fortunately for you, he doesn't agree." Leona smiles, "This means he doesn't see the relationship the way she does."

"Really?"

"Or perhaps he is a traditional person. He would like to marry her before living with her."

"I don't think Hyunkel is a traditional person."

"See? You know many things about him. Your border has way exceeded the friendzone .." Leona wraps her arm around Marm and smiles, "I'm just making an assumption. We all know Hyunkel has been in this relationship with Emmi for about a month. Nothing serious may happen between them. Marm, you should decide what to tell him and what's not. Human feelings are important, be kind to yours."

 _So you plant your own garden, and decorate your own soul._

 _In stead of waiting, for someone to bring you_ _flowers._

Leona would like to inspire Marm this way, sincerely.

 **HYUNKEL'S SIDE**

"She said she would try, she said Yes to my proposal, now she is the one who cancelled the wedding. Marm is a freaking idiot!" Pop finishes the beers and asks for more. He is releasing the grief in a pub where they are the regular, himself, Hyunkel and Larhalt.

"Perhaps you have been in her friendzone for too long." Larhalt is very supportive the whole night, kindly listens to Pop and maintains the long, repeated conversation.

"I have already told her we are not friends!"

"It can be worse than being friends, she may take you as a brother."

"Who wants to be her brother? Damn her!"

Hyunkel has heard enough of it. "Don't talk about her that way."

"What's your problem?"

"He is drunk." Larhalt reminds Hyunkel.

"She is not an idiot. She did try her best to fulfill your request. Stop scolding her."

"If there is anybody who disturbs our relationship, it can only be you."

"Hyunkel, don't take it seriously." Leona drags him to her side, making a distance from Pop.

"He is always a maniac to Marm. You should have seen the way he was all over Marm. If he looks at a girl that way how can she resist?"

Hyunkel and Leona hear what Pop is saying clearly.

"The way I look at Marm? Have I stared at her body like you do?" _Except last night._ Hyunkel is angry _._

"Why doesn't Marm make a friendzone of him? Why doesn't she take him as her brother? Why am I not as tall as him and as handsome as him? Why does it have to be me! Life is soooo unfair!" Pop sobs and screams and continues with the drink.

"He is drunk and heartbroken. Don't take whatever he says seriously. He has loved Marm for more than four years." Leona turns to Hyunkel.

Looking at Pop who is hopelessly sucking the beer bottle like a mad man, Hyunkel decides to approach.

"Marm was very upset yesterday when making this decision. This is not the way you want, but it doesn't mean you are not important for her. For sure you are a great person in her life."

"How do you know?" Pop asks.

"I was at your position before."

"How can someone like you be at my position? Marm likes you so much that she will never say No to you. That idiot has a double standard!"

Hyunkel wants to tell Pop he loves Marm more than his life. But love isn't always a mutual feeling and they can't force Marm into anything. As a man, they need to be respectful to her decision.

In the end he doesn't speak a word, for he knows it's of no use, Pop is drunk.

Somehow he is sure everything is going to be fine. With Pop and Marm's relationship they will not unfriend each other for a life time.

"So, do you love Marm, too?" Leona asks him out of sudden. The smile of Papunika Queen is cunning.

"It's impossible to not love her." Hyunkel admits. "I don't plan to let Marm knows, so don't tell her anything."

Leona's eyes are opened-wide. She doesn't expect such a straight forward answer.

"Then how about Emmi?"

"It's a different relationship." He says.

Emmi is not Marm. He feels sorry to hurt a woman's heart. But he knows he is going to hurt Emmi.

Love can be painful. That's the reason why he needs to love Marm in a way he will never hurt her: a quiet way, and Marm doesn't have to know about it.

 **-End Chapter 1**.


	2. Chapter 2 - They have a sweet morning

**Chapter 2: And They Had A Sweet Morning**

Papunika's early morning is Marm's favorite. It normally starts from 5am. Marm jogs along the town, enjoying the pure air, to her that's the perfect moment among twenty four hours.

She often meets Hyunkel and Larhalt along the jogging route. However, as their "training" is harder, Marm seldom joins but carries on her way and meets them about one hour later, when they wait for her at the Central Park before heading to breakfast with others.

Leona gets up at six, not keen on jogging, the Queen does some light swimming.

Menruru is up at five, she takes care of her garden, does some baking.

Pop sleeps until seven, he does his push up exercises and jogs around his neighbourhood. After that, he picks up Menruru at her house.

Avan and Furora start the morning early, too. Being new to Papunika, they quickly fall in love with farmer markets in the kingdom. The royal couple of Carl do the grocery shopping by themselves when they are on holiday here.

All gather for breakfast normally at half past seven. That's how all friends in the group get together every morning recently.

Pop is telling the group his excitement to work for a theme park project, he'd like to make a place where everybody can be back to childhood and play comfortably.

"Of course it would not be only some Merry Go Round and Swings like you see in the children playground." - he said.

"Such a very happy project! Suits your personality." - Furora supports.

"You make a good choice in Benga. Plenty of lands are calling for buying options and their economic capability is strongest to start with, then you can continue in Papunika, Romos & Carl." - said Larhalt.

 _So happy_. Marm thinks. _Pop is back to normal_.

"How is it going with your project, Hyunkel?" - Marm hears Leona asks.

"Which one?" He smiles. His voice is so warm.

"Hehe... nevermind, ignore my questions. I want to pay my regards on your work but it reminds me of how many projects you are doing." The Queen of Papunika giggles.

"Don't mention about his stress" - Pop grinned - "however" - he turns to Hyunkel - "you have to be in charge of the construction of my theme park once it's finalized."

"Why not? Perfect."

"Why does even Poppu talk about work? Is there anyone here want to travel with Furora and me?"

"What for?" Pop looks at his sensei and says - "Sensei, you are no longer young, you should not go too much!"

"You are wrong Pop, your sensei is very young, and he should make a world tour." Furora says calmly and it seems scaring Avan off.

"Hehe.. but no place is better than home at Carl" - Avan replies and wraps his hand around Fufu's shoulder.

"Listen up, everybody, we decide to go on with the wedding." Pop tells friends and Avan sensei. "Menruru and I, of course..."

"Can I be your bride maid... do you mind?" Marm asks.

"Of course not Marm, you are my sister."

"Older sister" - Pop adds.

"Shut up"

"Who are your groomsmen?" - Furora questions Pop.

"Hmm... not many options. Larhalt and Hyunkel have agreed." Pop smiles. "Larhalt, I strategically put you in a role to take care of Leona's challenges, ok?"

"My honor. Hope Your Majesty would be kind to me" - He looks at her.

Leona only smiles.

"And Hyunkel, I think Marm won't do anything against you, so you take care of her. Then I can successfully and safely take my bride."

"Marm, we can't let the guys take our sister as easily as Pop imagines." - Leona says - "It's Pop's imagination. Hyunkel, Marm won't make it easy for you."

"Would be fun, Marm, I'm looking forward to it"

"Fufu..." Menruru worries, "do you think I can successfully get married on that day?"

"No problem my dear, they'd know where to stop or I would ensure that" - Furora tells Menru fondly.

And the group conversations carry on. It can be about work topics or sport topics, can be about plans or weekend, foods or politics... However, they have to finish the communication by maximum nine o'clock to start a working day.

Marm is assigned by the King of Romos, Papunika's neighboring kingdom, to be in Papunika for several months as an ambassador processing the new trade agreement with Papunika.

Hyunkel is leading the Building and Construction Authority of Papunika. With piles of projects to construct, reconstruct, renovate, design, redesign, reinforce all kinds of buildings and community infrastructures in Papunika, he has a busiest schedule among his friends. He had a relationship with Emmi for two months. She is the youngest member of the Counseling Committee reporting directly to Leona, Queen of Papunika.

Emmi is a beautiful woman in her twenties and she does not only love Hyunkel, she loves him passionately. She was totally attracted by Hyunkel after several occasions and has never been hesitating in showing her affections toward him. She has a high-profile way of doing things including telling everybody how much she loves him and how determined she would be to confess it to him, no matter what the result is. And Hyunkel , who appears a cold person, is in fact, very generous in responding to a woman's heart. He forgave every foolish things Emmi did with a purpose to stop him participating the battle. He explained to her how important it is for him to join his friends and protect them even by using himself as a shield if he has to. When the war was over, Marm ended up promising Pop trying her best to love him. Hyunkel was alone. The moment seeing him alive, Emmi ran to him, hugged him, cried for the happiness of reunion, Hyunkel was touched.

Days by days, Emmi understands Hyunkel lesser. As a self-centered person, she does not care about anything excepts her feeling, her happiness, her plans. She is not aware how much Hyunkel treasures his friends. Emmi is very proud being Hyunkel 's girlfriend because in spite of his outstanding appearance, Hyunkel excels in the role of leading the BC Authority of Papunika, making remarkable progresses in income and reputation, perfectly matched to Emmi's high position in Papunika politic system. It's not important to her that no other topics can last long in their conversations except work related ones. They attend a lot of important functions inside and outside Papunika together, her diplomatic experiences match with Hyunkel's charisma, it enhances their networks and recognitions, helps them making more friends and connections in various industries, authorities and countries.

In addition to that, Emmi loves taking control of Hyunkel's personal life, starting by decorating his house the way she likes. Hyunkel ends up asking her to put everything back to the original. Emmi suggests that she should move in with him times after times, and has never been successful.

Hyunkel realizes Emmi and himself are highly compatible at work, but are distant in personal life. He tells her they should end the relationship as gently as he agreed to start it a month ago. Emmi never agrees to separate, she believes herself is the only match for Hyunkel.

Hyunkel seldom talks about his relationship. Friends know Emmi is his girlfriend. As Emmi has not agreed with the break up, Hyunkel finds no rush in updating each stage of his relationship status to his friends. Patiently and calmly, he attends to Emmi's requests of meeting, however, she can never change his mind. One reason is the huge difference they have, another reason is that Hyunkel never makes an attempt to work it out. Marm comes to his heart effortlessly and she stays there. Marm exists in his past as an angel leading him out of the darkness, Marm is still the present, becoming more beautiful after everyday and simply be a part of his life. She is the only girl he remembers in details the appearance. Marm has a very attractive face with beautiful brown eyes and a smile that can make him forget anything but it. Emmi is never Marm. However, he remains a distance from Marm, because he does not make it easier for him to get more attached to her, because he takes Pop as a real good friend.

In both his heart and his mind, he never wants Marm to be lonely.

In spite of his reservation for Marm, Hyunkel is very warm and friendly to certain ladies. Menruru is kind and soft as a flower petal, she is quite an art person, they share a common interest in arts. Leona is intelligent and always shines. She is funny and thoughtful, very close to Hyunkel and they talk a lot about different perspectives of Papunika. She takes him as her older brother, he takes her as a young Queen who he would serve with his best. Furora is another intelligent lady who always being supportive to her juniors.

After the breakfast, on the way back to work, Marm asks Hyunkel

"Yesterday you said we would talk, what is it about?"

"You seem ok, so nothing now." His voice is warm and he answers without looking at her.

So she keeps quiet sitting in his car, Papunika suddenly catches itself in a light rains.

"Papunika is so beautiful, I love this place."

"Me too." - He agrees. - "And it's more beautiful when you are here, Marm."

She is not sure if she hears it wrongly."What do you mean?"

"Papunika is more beautiful when you are here, simple as that." He does not know how fast is her heart beating.

"Even at some really messy places like Pop's house?"- She jokes, trying to get out of the slight blush on her cheeks.

"Oh no, any place but that." He laughs. _Not because it's messy._

He turns to a smaller beautiful road lined up by rows of trees, and he stops the car.

"In fact, there is really something I like to tell you."

She looks at him nervously, _he is going to announce his wedding with Emmi, or ask me to stop dreaming about him_.

"It may not be easy for you now when things didn't work between you and Pop. But believe me, there is still a good future awaiting you ahead."

She nods. He looks very serious and Marm definitely believes whatever he says. After a moment of hesitation, she can't stop herself asking "How about Emmi and you? Is thing working well?"

"I have ended the relationship with Emmi. It happened last week." Short and clear, there is a determination from his voice

"You two broke up?" Marm almost can't believe, from the way she looks at them as a very compatible couple, to Marm it is a shame of her to confess with Hyunkel and disrupt them. Why would they break up after only a month?

"It seems to Emmi that I'm the only person who breaks up, Emmi does not agree on that so I'm still working it out."

"Does this mean you are trying to be back together?"

"I'm trying to calm Emmi down, along the way she will understand there is no possibility to go on."

"I'm sorry for that." Marm knows she doesn't mean it.

"Are you really feeling sorry for me?" He looks into her eyes.

She gets embarrassed as he knows she is lying. "In fact... not really...I'm sorry, I think you are the one who initiates the breakup, so, I must not feel sorry for you, and I don't know, but I don't like Emmi."

"You don't know?"

"I don't know." It doesn't sound convincing at all, but Marm doesn't care.

"You are not as innocent as you seems, Marm. I know you always don't like Emmi being my girlfriend." He smiles. He does notice Marm never looks comfortable seeing Emmi and him together.

"No, I don't." She touches his arm lightly. _I don't want you to have any girlfriend, not only Emmi, but I don't want you to be lonely, too. I want you to be taken care well_. Her thinking is running in her mind.

Looking into her eyes, there is a slight pain that starts hurting him. She probably still doesn't understand much about love. "Come on, Marm, give me a hug." He says softly.

And she hugs him, it's a tight one.

He can feel the softness and warmth of her body. Marm is vulnerable in his embrace. Can't control himself, he gently kisses her hair without her notice.

"You don't want me to have any girl friend, do you?"

"I don't know."

"If I have a girlfriend, I can't take care of you anymore, I have to spend time with her and can't have time for you."

"But you don't have any girlfriend now."

"Yes, Marm is right... So I can continue to hug Marm like this."

"I also want you to be taken care well."

"You can take care of me well, you always do a good job."

"But I have never done anything for you."

"Doesn't matter, as long as I can feel it." Still holding her in hands, he strokes her hair, it's hard to let her go. He finds himself asksing "Marm, you used to fall in love with me, didn't you?"

Marm is so thankful that she is hiding her embarrassment in his chest. She admits in the most silent way, by merely nodding.

"When was that?" He continues asking.

"Can I ... not answer the question?"

Of course he will not say no. It has never been easy to say no to Marm.

Even he doesn't know the answer, he feels rather happy, however, his happiness quickly turns to a doubt when he remembers who Marm is. Marm is being Marm. She genuinely loves and cares for everybody around her. This is not a personal love.

Regardless of the disappointment, he keeps holding her close to him and tells her, "I won't have any other girlfriends as long as Marm is not committed into any other relationship."

She nods again. _But why?_ She wonders and questions him.

"Because I never want Marm to be lonely."

"I will never be lonely. Now I know how much you care for me." She leans closer to him and hugs him more tightly.

...

And they have a sweet morning.

And Papunika is blossoming, everyone is waiting for Pop and Menruru's wedding excitedly.

 **End Chapter 2.**


	3. Chapter 3 - The afternoon is long

**Chapter 3: The Afternoon Is Long and The Star Shines Down**

It is a normal Thursday, the day of the week Leona schedules for meetings of economic matters: trading, investments, value of her Papunika's currency... Leona updates herself with all matters happened in and outside Papunika daily. She has discussions with the Counseling Committee and related Authorities every morning. She is a queen with a sharp mind yet seldom gives detailed instructions to her subordinates. Her delegations make a stronger sense of responsibility and deliver pride that attached people to their work. In every meeting, Leona listens to different points of view, leads the discussion and analysis. If she is asked for advices, her advices are short. If she disagrees on something, further negotiation won't be necessary, however,she would consider others' opinions first in most of the time.

To obtain the ability to lead Papunika, Leona has gone through strict educations since childhood. In addition that, born as a royal heiress, she naturally knows and loves her people, her land, her history, her cultures.

"That's all for today, your Highness." Declared by Mr Seng, her senior counselor.

"Great, thanks everybody, see you next week."

Leona stands up from her throne. _That's a fast morning_. Normally it does not take more than a morning for Leona to finish the daily meeting. She has read and had casual conversations with other kingdom leaders and representatives about discussed matters before the meeting ever starts. _Everybody is busy, no point holding them for long_. Leona would have separate meetings with those who have unsolved matters.

"Your highness, for the conference in Benga next month, who would you appoint to accompany you?" Marlin asks.

"Hyunkel and Emmi."

"Your Highness, but..."

Leona looks at Marlin, waiting for Marlin to continue.

"I'm afraid there is a small problem between them, my queen."

Leona thinks for a moment, and she says "I need them in this conference. I would talk to them later, no worry, Marlin."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The palace of Papunika is both Leona's home and workplace. She is always surrounded by people who love her dearly. But Leona always sneaks away when her "office hour" (normally only the morning) is over. In addition to her country, she devotes time to another life's interest: fashion, textiles and clothing.

There is a place called Titika in Papunika town that Leona adores. It's laying on a small hill and is home of more than two hundred eclectic stalls where people can find fashions and accessories from individual designers, homemade products, beauty products, premium chocolates, cupcakes, original photography, art, crafts, jewelry. Titika is a place of most known coffee shops and restaurants in Papunika, too. Leona spoils herself here with a good high tea time or a lunch of secret family recipes. Time passes slowly in Titika, but it's definitely more charming than the central of Papunika town center. Leona drives to Titika almost everyday after the meeting with her government officers, every shop here is her favorite.

Today Leona is in a good mood enjoying her favorite red velvet cakes. Across the street, she sees Larhalt talking to an old man. The old man seems begging for something, but Larhalt ignores and walks into the coffeeshop. Leona feels uneasy.

She approaches the old man.

"Do you need any help, grandpa?"

"Miss, I'm very hungry, please give me some foods or money, my wife is starving, and I'm too old to work" The old poor man is almost crying.

Leona feels ashamed letting her people in the poverty. It's still one of the problem in Papunika. Someway, somehow, helps from the government don't reach everybody who needs it. _I have to find another way_. Leona thinks.

She gives the old man some money and an address of the social supporting house, where he can get long term supports.

The man seems not very happy about the amount of money, he doesn't want to let Leona go.

"Miss, you looks very wealthy but the money you gave is only enough for us to survive some days. Please give me more, please, I beg you."

"Grandpa, the address I give you can assist you in long term. Please go and talk to them."

The man does not seem listening.

"If you don't know how to go, I would drive you there, ok?"

"No need, ma'am. I can go by myself then. Thanks anyway."

When the man has gone, Leona looks for Larhlat at the coffee shop. She is so disappointed in him.

Larhalt, being street smart and inherited a considering fortune from Baran, knows how to build himself a good life. He reacts fast to opportunities in Papunika and its neighbouring countries including Benga, Romos, Ringai & Teran. Larhlat is interested in gold and property investments and he is owning a newly established company in both areas. Leona has tried to recruit him into her army force but Larhalt rejected. She still remembers he said " _I'm not very good at discipline, Your Highness. In my life, I would only serve Baran and Dai sama, please forgive me, I can't be either a good army leader or a solider for Papunika. I would always protect Your Highness and Papunika when you need me. The kingdom is at peace now, my service is not required at the moment._ " She respects him and they maintain a good friendship since then.

Larhalt is sitting at the bar, waiting for his new friend, an interesting young girl who has the same interest in gems just like him when Leona walks in. She quickly catches his attention.

"Good afternoon Leona."

 _She looks abit mad at me_. He can feel. Somehow, Larhalt takes Leona as the one with a hottest temper among all ladies he knows.

"Would you like some drink?" He offers.

"No, thank you."

She sits next to him. "I saw you ignoring an old man begging for helps, how could you be so cold to such an elderly?" She says straightforwardly.

"The man outside this coffee shop just now?

"Yes, I'm talking about him."

"Leona, I bumps into him so many times, I used to help him, but he always asks for more. And he would never go to the community welfare. He is indeed not that poor, he just likes to beg, that's it. So I ignores him recently".

He takes it as a natural thing to do. Somehow, she believes him. Larhalt is someone who can offer trust and assurance from what he says and the way he says it.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have doubted about your behavior. But the grandpa is too bad, then. See you later. I want to follow him now to see what happens."

"Can I accompany you? To protect the grandpa, I mean. You looks scary." He quickly follows her.

This afternoon, when Larhalt steps out of the coffee shop and follows the hot tempered and beautiful queen of Papunika, has made a change to their lives forever.

They spent one hour following the man, and the grandpa ended up being scolded by Leona. They took him to the community service office of the neighborhood and Leona requested officers working there to take care of him. She is glad that without having to reveal her true identity, officers at the community service center did their jobs properly.

It becomes extremely hot in the afternoon when they walks back to Titika. Neither Lahalt nor Leona can stand the heat. She ties up her hair, he wants to go topless but is stopped by the picky girl.

"It took one hour to follow him, do we need the same time to come back?" said him.

"Do you know a shorter way?" . Her face is burning. _I don't want the tanned skin. Isn't it spring now in Papunika?_

"With this kind of heat, I'm sure a heavy rain will come soon". He looks at the sky and sees rain drops coming down.

It rains. Each rain drop is big and heavy and comes so fast that they have to run immediately to the shelter area.

"Oh my.." Leona looks at herself, luckily she can really run so her dress is not very wet, it's just the shoes which are not comfortable anymore. She wipes her face gently with tissue paper and suddenly remembers Larhalt needs it, too. "Wait, I have more tissue papers, here..."

And she is speechless. Larhalt hair is wet and the funny upstanding bang is gone. He is indeed a handsome man who goes well with long hair. There is a mystery and masculine attractiveness from this appearance of him. _Wow... he is in fact very good looking._ She stares at him and thinks.

"Thank you... I really shouldn't say anything about the weather."

He wipes his face quickly. "This is the first time I use girl's tissue paper, smells good"

"On the contrary, you should stock some tissue papers to offer ladies whenever they need." She teases him. She always think Larhalt is still coping up with the normal life.

"Sure. Thanks for the advice." He has tissue papers in his pocket.

He smiles at her. There is a gleam of joy from his hazel eyes that draws her in. This is the first time she ever looks at him this closely. He is no less handsome than Hyunkel. Nature has done its best on all features of his face, in addition to the gleaming hazel eyes, he has dark eyebrows, hawkish nose, defined masculine cheekbone. He is tall and in an athletic body achieved from tough daily trainings.

"Do I look weird in this hair style?". He is embarrassed when Leona looks at him like this. She is so stunningly beautiful that he does not know how to say a wiser thing.

"No, not at all." She can't help feeling funny. _The weird one is your daily hairstyle, this one is very good._

"This is too girly for me." He gives annoying look to his long hair.

She can only smile, no more comment can be made.

Over his shoulder, she sees little heads of kittens helplessly suffering the rain. They are put in a box.

"Larhalt, there are some abandoned kittens in the box."

He quickly turns back and runs to the bench where two kittens are left in the paper box. They are all wet and shaking under the cold heavy rain. He covers them in his shirt and runs back to Leona.

"Poor things" He said, carefully holds them. Leona notices he wiping the kitten with his tissue papers. She sits down next to him and takes care of another one.

"You are still very small, lucky you see us." Leona talks to them.

"Lucky? Are you bring them home?"

"Lucky for them if you bring them home and take care of them, and I would visit them regularly". She caresses the kitten.

Without any hesitation, he agrees "Fine... But promise me you would pay them regular visits."

"I promise."

"Good. Now we should name them." He looks very excited.

"Call them Nana and Haha?"

"Why such old-fashioned names?"

"Haha - your name, Larhalt and Nana, mine, Leona."

He seems reluctant but no one can resist Leona, not even him.

"Sure, whatever you want, my queen."

They plays with their newly adopted kids and chats comfortably until the rain stops. Both walks through beautiful streets of Titika and Larhalt buys chocolates for Leona. And he totally forgets his new friend at the coffee shop, who angrily left after two hours waiting for him.

Leona is back to her palace when the evening starts falling. Seeing a box of chocolate on the desk, Marm is surprised.

"You ate chocolate today? You said you hate chocolate."

"Maybe I would change." Leona picks one and eats happily, in front of the questioning face of Marm.

"You girl..." Marm says, "changes like Papunika weather."

"This afternoon is very long" Leona recalls, laying on her chaise longue. "I feel like I coming out from a dream, a dream of afternoon walking with Larhalt." There is a rhythm of delight in her voice.

"Hmm.. Larhalt? Why him?"

"Because he happened to be at Titika, too, and you don't know this, but he is in fact very good looking!"

"I know he is". Marm smiles and confirms, as if she has been aware of it for a long time.

"How come I have never noticed it before?"

"He is our friend, it doesn't matter whether he is good looking or not, right?" Marm questions _innocently_.

And Leona can feel the blood rushing to her face.

End Chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 4 - The promise

**Chapter 4: The Promise**

In the palace of Papunika, Leona is having a lunch meeting with Hyunkel and Emmi. It's a special meeting that she only calls for them. She feels good today, just as everyday, Leona faces any arising challenges with merely a strong love and bond for her country. In addition, she feels good working with brilliant people and learn from them. Although Marlin concerns about the complicated relationship between Hyunkel and Emmi, both are mature enough to expect a special assignment from the queen through this kind of lunch, they never reveal any issues of the personal matters in front of Leona.

Leona goes to the main point."The reason I call you here is because you'd play important roles of Papunika bargaining power in the conference this Wednesday, happening in Benga. As you know, king of Benga has initiated a free trading zone, which includes Papunika and other biggest kingdoms such as Carl, Teran, Ringaia, Romos and Benga itself."

"Free trading is not a bad idea, if the agreement is composed cautiously." Hyunkel says.

"I agree. Leaders of each kingdom including myself have supported the idea. However, it's the implementation that concerns me." Leona continues, "Due to its economics, Benga currency is the strongest. We have been trading with Benga for decades, they have made additional huge profits on the currency exchange rate advantage. However, after the war, Papunika's economy has picked up very fast. Within one year, our currency value has increased by fifty percents. Up till now, Benga is earning less from us compared to previous years, that's not much a problem for them. However, I believe they foresee Papunika as a threat to their position in long term."

"Don't tell me he is going to... there is a rumor..."

"You may have heard of it when you attend diplomatic functions for Papunika. Yes, Emmi, the king of Benga has proposed to unify the free trade zone's currency to be Benga's."

"If all kingdoms are using a same currency, the immediate benefit is that some countries would escape from its low currency values. But I don't see Papunika is in a need for that. I believe our economy would improve much more and we are in a competitive position to prove ourselves." Said Emmi.

"In my point of view, the idea is quite dangerous. Benga currency is strongest now and would continue to be strong provided it is remained inside the kingdom. Some economies are just not ready to keep in pace with such a strong currency and the collapse of weaker economies are very likely to happen in a few years time. If one fails, the rest are badly affected. To avoid that, you'd have to fund the collapsing economy but most probably this would just drag you down." Hyunkel tells Leona.

"Exactly. However, Ringaia and Benga are strong allies for centuries, and Teran shares border with Benga, so very likely the idea would be supported by both countries. On the contrary, Carl and Romos are out of this topic. Furora is not keen on the idea and she has firmly rejected. The King of Romos has a pride for his country. As our brief discussion, he would not give up Romos currency. Neither will I with Papunika currency." Leona's voice is with a determination.

"And even though you don't support, Papunika has too many businesses with Benga for you to reject the offer straightforwardly like Carl and Romos."

"That's why you would go with me to the conference. Hyunkel, because you are leading our Building and Construction Authority and Benga king is extremely interested in this. An obstacle of the free trade zone project is the disconnection of logistic among countries, we can offer them the responsibility is this area as a compromise to reject the unifying of currency. Are you interested?"

"You are very smart, Leona" He smiles and has a sip of wine. "Indeed you would have a double gain. If the free trade zone is supported by enhanced logistics, which I believed is funded by all members?"

She nods in agreement. And he continues "then Papunika has more opportunities to form businesses with other countries in addition to Benga, I can't be prouder of you. I'm interested, Your Highness."

 _I can't be prouder of you, too, Hyunkel._ Emmi looks at him lovingly. She then asks Leona "What about me, Your Highness?"

"Well, Emmi, no one is better than you in diplomatic experiences. Be there and play with them by your own strategy, and especially..." She smiles mysteriously " You'll know..., not my plan, it's just the nature." And the queen leaves the sentence there.

"Sure, my Queen. You always make fun of me... I'll do the best of preparation to assist you and Hyunkel. Cheers."

And the lunch is delicious. When it's finished, Hyunkel asks for a move first.

"Thanks for the meeting, Leona. If that's a wrap, I shall take my leave now. See you later." Said Hyunkel.

"See you, take care." Leona waives her hand.

Emmi looks at Hyunkel walking away with regrets. _How could it happened to me, how could I let him leaving me._

"When are you going to Benga? Where would you stay there? I would prepare the itinerary for Her Highness and me, let me do it for you, too." She follows him and says.

"Thanks Emmi, but I can handle by myself."

"Her Highness may need your protection along the way too." She tries to convince him.

He thinks of Leona and picturing she sneaking away to do shopping in Benga before attending the meeting. "Personally I think Leona prefers the private time, so I would be there with my teleportation."

"Then how about me? I need you to protect me."

"Emmi, nothing would happen to our safety in this trip, you know that."

"Why do you try to keep a distance from me?" She says stubbornly.

"Isn't it supposed to be this way?" He replies her firmly and it makes her afraid that he is no longer in his limit. Emmi wants to reconcile, _but_ _not by this way. I'd have plenty of chances in Benga alone with him, my last chances._

Very quickly, she apologizes. "I'm sorry for being unreasonable. I used not to be separated from you. Please give me time."

Before he can response, she continues

"Only until the conference in Benga is over, I need to focus on that so I can't stand the pain of separating from you now, you don't have to do anything, you don't need to attach to my itinerary, just let me forget the fact that we are no longer together until then." She looks very depressed.

This leaves him no choice but a compromise.

...

Marm does not encounter many difficulties working with Papunika on the trade agreement for Romos. Authorities in Papunika are friendly and great allies of Romos, it's just that she has to study hard on the terms and conditions of the agreement to not make any mistakes, she has to spend time on going through every details and reporting to King Romos and most of the time, his trading authorities daily. Marm is not very interested in her job, she must admit that to herself, but she is trying her best and would do her best. On the contrary, without Marm's notice, Leona's team likes Marm very much. To them, she is young and inexperienced, yet she is willing to learn and listen, and there is a combination of naivety and determination in her that makes the discussions more interesting. Additionally, she is a heroin that they love. King Romos makes no mistake in sending her here as a representative.

Hyunkel has made his time to pick Marm up when she finishes her work.

The moment seeing her, he finds the familiar sense of attachment. She has changed to her casual clothes, in the end of the day, she still looks fresh as usual in shorts and a white shirt of medium length, the hair is tied in a side braid.

"Thanks for picking me up. We get to go to sensei's house now. Big meeting!" She sits neatly in his car, next to him.

"Ok."

Avan and Furora is temporarily away from Carl to support Pop and Menruru's wedding. The Queen and King of Carl have been in Papunika for two weeks and are staying in Avan's old house, a nice charming mansion. The meeting, of course, is about the preparation of the big day, which is approaching this weekend. Everybody is assigned a task or multiple tasks for the event.

"How is Marm today?" He asks.

She opens her bag and shows him a pile of documents. "Not too bad, things are progressing. This is my homework tonight."

He smiles, thinking of many amendments may require for trade agreements between Romos and Papunika after the conference in Benga. "Marm, I think your work may never end."

"Why? It's gonna end some day, you know."

"It may take up to a year..."

"Really? My King told me it just takes a couple of months..." She fed up thinking about more challenges to overcome in an area that she was not educated or had any personal interest. "I will see, just do my best until I can't."

"But it's not bad to stay in Papunika, is it?"

"No, it's not bad, Papunika is my second home."

 _So Romos is still her home._

She looks at beautiful sunflower fields they are passing by. The flowers are facing to the sunset, _they are so cute_. Marm takes out her pen and sketch book to make a quick sketch of the view, the fields of sunflowers across the road in a stunning sunset time. "Wanna stop for a while?" He asks.

"Yea.. thank you."

They get out of the car and stand next to each other. She leans on the car and continues to finish her sketch. Hyunkel looks at her as the sunshine on her face and wind gently plays with her hair, and then looks at her artwork with an unnamed pleasure.

"Done... What do you think? I would make a note here, _Otw to sensei's house, in Papunika with Hyunkel._ " She wrote and shows him the little piece of art.

"I like it, you did it lovely." He comments honestly. "I don't know that you do sketching. Show me previous pages."

"No." She quickly closes the sketch book.

"Why not? What did you sketch earlier?"

"Nothing." She puts her book into the bag and tries to look normal.

"Ok, if you wish not to show."

"Good, thanks..." She wonders how would he react to see many sketches of his portrait and body.

"Marm, when I'm back from Benga this Friday, will you take me to Romos for a short visit?"

"Why do you want to visit Romos? Is there any good reason?"

"Depends." He looks at her " I hope it's a good reason for you."

"As good as you hugging me another day?" She asks, staring at his strong arms. She can't forget that sweet moment and can't stop the temptation to have it repeated.

He is surprised by her question, and then he seems understanding. "If you like, we can do it again on Friday, but not now, not today."

Marm tends to question why, but then she hesitates and nods lightly "Ok. I will wait for Friday."

"Good." He slides his hand under her hair and gently pinches her ear "I shouldn't be tempted."

And he walks her to the car. "Let's go. They are waiting for us."

...

Friends are already gathering at Avan's house. Pop is very eager as his parents are coming to Papunika soon, and all would reunion with Crocodile, Hym, Matulip, Mouse and Nova. Furora sets a deadline of this week Friday for the garden of Avan's house, the wedding venue, to be decorated and set up completely.

Herself, Marlin and Emmi would take care of decorating the whole area with flowers, chairs dressing, tables setup.

Marm and Leona team up for the agenda, guests list and seating arrangement, time management, reception rundown, assisting Menruru in dressing, makeup and hairdo.

Menruru is taking care of the wedding cake, she and Pop would decide on the menu under Avan's strict supervision as the sensei is very fond of foods and desserts.

Larhalt is excited to be assigned the task to pick up and allocate tables and chairs, as well as set up reception tents and dance floor with Hyunkel and Apollo. They are also responsible for music and lighting systems.

Avan would be the minister to perform the wedding. Pop picks up and accommodates guests.

A good friend of them, Mr Crocodile would drive Menru and bride maids to the wedding venue.

Carly, Furora's sister would play the piano when Menruru walks down the aisle

"How about the wedding dress?"

"I'm making it, and I almost finish bride maid dresses, too." Menruru updates.

"We are having one of the most talented bride!" They laughs.

"Furora, we don't know that you have a sister."

Furora smiles warmly "She is at about your age, I sent her to a safer place than Carl palace at her childhood to protect her, and now she is back. She has just arrived Papunika for the last two days."

"Wow... why don't you bring her here?" Leona asks.

"I'd like to, but she says she has friends in Papunika, my sister is a little stubborn."

"No worry dear,she is a good kid." Avan reassures his wife. "Anyway, Carly would be here for the rehearsal."

"We may have missed this." Marlin worries, " Who would accompany Menruru walking along the aisle?"

"It's indeed important." Furora asks her husband." Avan, should you walk Menruru instead and we'd find an official minister to perform the wedding?"

Pop finds no problem with it, he says "It doesn't matter, Sensei, I would walk Menruru myself, we walk each other, hand in hand."

Everyone is immediately delighted with Pop's decision.

And Menruru smiles beautifully.

And their wedding is coming in three days.

The kingdom of Papunika is blossoming with happiness of friends.

Later at night, Leona writes in her diary: " _Very happy today although I'm exhausted with the work and PopMenru's wedding preparations. Where are you, the last piece of my perfect picture for a Papunika in peace? There is no single day we can forget you. We still go on to build a more beautiful and sustainable world, deep in our hearts, there is an eternal hope that you would return_. _Please be well, Dai, even you are far away from us._ "

 **End Chapter 4.**


	5. Chapter 5 - The pride of Papunika

**Chapter 5: The Pride of Papunika  
**

Days have become extremely hetic. Huynkel starts the day training with Larhalt followed by the breakfast with friends, his day continues with projects belong to Authority he is leading, when the working hours are over in Papunika, he takes bath, gets change and heads to Benga by the teleportation technique. He arrives just in time to join Leona and Emmi attending the reception dinner hosted by the King and Queen of Benga. Three of them question about the absence of Furora but reassure themselves about the possibility of Fufu's own schedule. When the dinner is over, Huynkel receives the not-so-happy messages from Papunika.

"When are you coming? tables and chairs are laying in piles here." from Larhalt

"We are dying." from Pop.

"Can you buy the roasted salmon skin for me?" a request from sensei Avan.

"Huynkel, help me to tell Leona I would share the room with her tonight, I FORGOT the meeting schedule at Benga.." from Furora.

"Ok, coming." And he deletes all messages.

Emmi has dressed nicely. She is gorgeous in a night gown that shows off her shoulder and a feminine body. Huynkel won't be able to resist her. She knows how gentle he is to the ladies. When she enters his room, it's empty.

Huynkel has taken himself to Papunika within a few seconds by the use of teleportation, he has to help his friends setting up the wedding venue.

They plan for a medium size wedding with below one hundred guests. But chairs should be allocated in two sections, the vow area and the banquet area. There would be standing tables, reception tents and dance floor. And there are five of them to handle it: Pop, Huynkel, Larhalt, Avan and Apollo.

"You friends are so manly, sister. Why didn't you introduce them to me earlier?" Carly asks Furora. Carly is the princess of Carl Kingdom who is at the early twenties, she has the gorgeous eyes and hair colors of Furora. However, there is a tomboyish look from her that is trying to hide the true beauty.

"Mind your words, my dear." Furora always has to remind her sister.

"Brother in law is looking good, too. He is in a really good shape at his age." Carly continues.

"Don't test my temper, sister." Furora's voice is calm yet scary.

"Who is your groom, Menru?" Carly turns to the black hair beautiful new friend.

"He is there, with the chairs, black hair and... topless." She points toward Pop who is devotedly in the labor work.

"I see, he is cute, just perfect for you." There is the warmth from Carly's voice that shows her friendliness and sincerity.

"Thank you." Menruru smiles beautifully.

"How about you? Which one is your boyfriend?" Carly looks at Marm.

"None of them." _Yet_. Her eyes are on Huynkel. He who is working with Apollo on the light system, is looking extremely attractive when dealing with men's kind of work. Recently Marm has been over the moon. From the day Hyunkel said he never wants her to be lonely, he takes care of her very well. He spends as much time as he can with Marm. They create a lot of new wonderful memories. It's like a dream come true. Marm doesn't want any next relationship if Hyunkel is beside her.

"Are you serious?" Carly is almost shouting.

"Carly!"

"Sorry, sister." She gives Furora an innocent grin and turns to Marm, "Such a waste, you are so hot babe. They must be blind to not date you."

Marm and Menry can only smile instead of replying. Menruru changes the topic. "Marm, I have the bride maid dress ready, do you want to put it on?"

Menru presents a sea-glass green silk-chiffon gown. "There are two designs, this one is for you, Marm. Another one is for Leona."

Furora takes a look at both gowns with admiration. "You are so talented, Menru."

Marm places the gown on her, the length and size seem fit her perfectly. "I have never seen a more beautiful gown... I like how it would show my legs hehe..." Marm is excited.

"Yes, that I can read your mind."

"Thank you! How about your wedding dress?"

"Finishing soon. No worry." Menru looks very confident.

Carly can't stop being surprised at her sister's friends. _Such simple yet interesting people._

"Sensei..." Pop walks to them and talks to Furora "Do you have any foods left, I'm very hungry."

"Oh yes, yes." Furora stands up "We have prepared the super for you guys. Asks everybody come here and eat."

Marm looks at Huynkel as he is approaching, imagining how late it would be when he's back to Benga, it should be midnight in Benga by now.

"I can't understand how come you guys can still eat at this time?" Carly is talking again.

"It's simple, we are hungry, lady." said Larhalt.

She looks at him who seems very fit, and wondering how can he maintain the good looking body eating at this rate.

"You should be Furora's sister, thanks for helping our wedding, I'm Pop."

She nods at Pop, _cute guy_. "It's my pleasure. My name is Carly, nice to meet you all." She makes good eyes contact with all people around the table and they return with warm smiles.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Larhalt, that's Huynkel and Apollo." The guy sitting next to her says. He seems to be the most friendly available one here. _But with a weird hair style._

"Yummy!" Pop feels satisfied at his super. "Thanks sensei Furora."

"You guys have such a speed of work to finish the chairs and tables and light system setting by now, amazing!" Furora praises.

"Never underestimate us, we are Avan team." said Avan.

Furora puts her hand on husband's shoulder, "Yes, team leader. Do you want some more soup?"

"No, it's enough. Fufu, I should take you to Benga now, it's already one AM there."

"Oh my... sure, wait a minute, I'd take my luggage."

Furora quickly runs to the upper floor, she is sharp yet tends to forgot time easily.

"Huynkel, you too. Let go back to Benga after the super, we would continue the work here tomorrow." Avan tells Huynkel.

"Huynkel" Menruru comes to him," This is Leona's bride maid gown, can you please pass to her and ask her to try? If it doesn't fit, please bring back to me tomorrow." Menruru says softly.

He smiles at her, "Sure, I would remember."

"Hey, take this." Larhalt throws something to him.

Huynkel opens his hand and sees a piece of nicely wrapped chocolate.

"I don't eat this."

"Not for you. Help me to pass to Leona."

A silence accross the table. Marlin and Apollo look at each other, Marm and Menruru quicky exchange a smile.

"Ok."

"Who's Leona?" Carly asks Larhalt. "Everybody seems to mention about her alot tonight."

"She is quite a pride of her people, and a good friend." He simply says.

 _He must have a good friendship with Leona from the way he talks about her._ Carly thinks.

Across the table, Marm asks Huynkel. "Do you think Larhalt likes Leona?"

"I have no idea of that. Marm is very pocky."

"No, this is about caring for friends." She defends. Suddenly she remembers their conversation about taking care of him the other day, she feels guilty. She has never taken care of Huynkel, she is just always taking his capabilities for grant.

"Huynkel, this is for you." She gives her sketch book to him. That's the only personal thing she has in her bag, but is also the only sweet things she can do for him at that time.

He takes it and seems wondering what is it for.

"Yesterday you said you want to take a look at previous pages, didn't you? You can open it when you are in Benga."

"Thanks. Why can't I open it here?" He keeps her sketch book with him carefully.

"Because I'm very shy." She looks at him and smiles embarrassingly.

Carly has been observing them. She tells Larhalt, " I bet two of them are in love. What do you think?"

Larhalt simply smiles. So do Pop, Menru and Avan who have noticed how Marm and Huynkel ignore them unconsciously.

"Ok, let's go." Furora runs to Avan.

"I'm going too. See you tomorrow, guys." Huynkel stands up.

"Bye bye." They say.

And Avan carries Furora disappears together with Huynkel, as quickly as a breeze.

"Oh my god... where are they?" Carly shouts again.

"They use their teleportation technique." Larhalt explains. "Should reach Benga by now."

"Wow..." Carly admires. "But then my brother in law is mean, he should have taken me to Papunika by this technique. It took me 7 days traveling by hot air balloon and ship." She gets mad.

Larhalt laughs. _Funny girl._ And he sees the chocolate Huynkel forgot on the table. He comes and takes it and disappears quickly with his teleportation in a second, too.

It's beyond midnight in Benga, yet the city is still lively. Avan, Furora and Huynkel arrives shortly in the central of the colorful town.

"Follow me, the hotel we stays is near."

"Huynkel, you idiot."

It's Larhalt's voice. They turn back. Larhalt looks quite mad.

"You forgot this chocolate to Leona."

"Sorry." _I must have forgotten it when talking to Marm._ He thinks, and feels good that at least he didn't forget Leona's bride maid dress.

"Pass it to her for me." Larhalt says in his breath. He must have overused his energy to catch Huynkel & Avan.

"Why don't you give her yourself?" Huynkel says.

"Eh... no, I don't want to disturb her."

Huynkel just walks away without taking the chocolate.

And Larhalt has no choice but going to see Leona himself. He doesn't know why, but he really feels stupid. _It's ok. She is a friend. No harm acting stupid in front of a friend._ He thinks.

Leona's room is in the high floor and facing the city view. She lets the curtain open so she can see the splendid city while falling asleep. And when friends ring the bell, the Queen is in her beautiful sleep.

Ding dong

"Don't disturb me."

Ding dong

"It's one o'clock, people."

Ding dong Ding dong

"Shut up!" She gets mad and scolds, and she suddenly realizes that it may be Furora. She received messages from both Fufu and Huynkel that Furora would share the room with her tonight.

Ding dong Ding dong

"Ok coming..." She gets up and quickly put on the robe to open the door.

"I'm very sorry, my dear, I'm terrible sorry to disturb you." Furora greets her with a hug, followed by Avan.

The couple quickly walks into the room to settle Furora's luggage and she hears Furora says "I totally forgot the meeting date, luckily you are here, thanks my dear..."

And Huynkel stand in front of her, giving a package. "This is your bride maid dress from Menru. She asks you to try it on, if it doesn't fit, pass back to me tomorrow. Ok?"

She looks at the package with her half-open eyes. "Great... thanks Huynkel."

"Good night." He leaves the room quickly.

And Larhalt comes close to her, she is not sure if it's him, she thinks she must be dreaming, until she hears his voice.

"Leona..."

Her eyes open fully to check if it's him. It's him. How come he is here. She automatically fixes her hair and sleeping gown. "Larhalt, hi..." She gives him back his confidence with her beautiful smile.

"You must be wondering why I'm here."

"Yes I am."

Although the smile is still on her face, he wants to kill Huynkel.

"I'm just... following them to see how Benga looks like."

"I see. It's stunning, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"You should be very tired by now, go back to sleep."

"No, I'm not, so good to see you here." Somehow, she doesn't want to make him feel bad or uncomfortable.

"Take this, from Papunika." He gives her the chocolate.

She thankfully receives the small gift. So sweet of him.

"Thanks, it's really made in Papunika."

"I don't know why I want to give it to you." He smiles. "But Papunika makes good things, and you deserve to be a proud Queen of it. I'm proud of everything you are doing for Papunika."

Leona doesn't know what to say. She is very touched by his sincerity. "Thanks..." She says softly, looking at the small chocolate in her hand.

"Let's go now, Larhalt. Let the ladies rest." Avan calls him from the room.

"Ok!" He turns to Leona. " I should go now. Sleep well tonight and beat Mr Benga King tomorrow."

"Definitely." She ensures.

Larhalt walks to the balcony where Avan is waiting for him. And they disappear at once.

Leona is still standing there, _recently it's like a dream every time I meet him_. She realizes.

...

Huynkel is lying on his bed and opening Marm's sketch book. Marm does draw a lot. He can recognizes the familiar corners of Papunika town, Papunika palace, and he looks at sketches of himself that Marm has made plenty. He wonders when did Marm make the sketch of him, but he can't stop feeling good about it. _It's from her memories._ He understands.

 **End Chapter 5.**


	6. Chapter 6 - A Night Before

**Chapter 6: A Night Before**

Bengaia is the capital of Benga . The city is one of the wealthiest and most powerful financial centers. The place is also well-known for its beautiful yet strategic location that is allocated by Benga bay, an intersection of Benga, Papunika and Romos. In the private lounge full of early sunshine and beautiful view of Benga bay, he is studying the blueprint plan for the last time. He knows exactly what he would propose to build to connect the world logistic. He glances through the sea and bay and borders of kingdom, his eyes stop at Romos with a special interest. He would love that place, just like he has loved Papunika.

She approaches him silently. She has been looking for him helplessly last night and was very disappointed to find out that he has gone back to Papunika without telling her.

" _I'm afraid you should let him go, Emmi san_ " Marlin told her another day.

No way.

"Good morning"

"Good morning" He replies with a smile.

"How could you get up this early? What time did you come back to Benga last night?"

"Quite late, at midnight."

"Did you have fun at Papunika?"

"Yes, I did. You know, we are rushing for Pop's wedding this Saturday."

"Please take me to Papunika with your teleportation tonight, will you?"

Hyunkel looks at her, studying, and decides, "I would rather talk to you tonight."

"So would there still be a separation after the talk?"

He nods merely.

"I dont want the seperation. We shall only talk to work it out."

"You shouldn't struggle with our past relationship any longer, Emmi. You have a long future to go..."

 _That sentence you always repeat_. She remembers bitterly.

At her emotionless expression, he says "It's your choice, Emmi. I'd like to clarify any thing regarding our relationship that still give you grieves. if you find not necessary, we shall have a stop here but it's not possible for us to remain any relationship rather than work."

"No, I'll see you tonight." _And we would work it out._

Leona steps into the lounge together with Furora, both are stunning in the royal outfits, followed by a group of assistants and safeguards that the King of Benga has arranged for them.

"We don't think it necessary, that's why Fufu and I decided to not have any safeguards. But the King is very hospitable and concern about our securities..." Leona tells Hyunkel and Emmi about the group of supporters.

"I concern about it, too, My Highness. I asked Hyunkel to accompany you along your journey to Benga, however, he refused." Emmi sounds furious.

"It's fine Emmi, I have no problem with it at all. And Hyunkel is not my guard, please remember."

"Yes, My Highness. I apology. But..."

Furora doesn't bother the conversation, she is very hungry and requests for some breads and a cup of fruit juice. As a queen who is well-known for the strong mentality and exceptional calmness, Furora usually seems unaware of the seriousness of the situation. However, just like her husband, Avan, what she says in the extremely important moment would lead to the conclusion of arguments.

"Oh, that's Pop and Menru." Furora notices.

They see Pop carrying Menru flying at a steady speed, both seem looking for something.

Pop flies toward his friends the moment he sees them.

"Morning! You people look great!" Pop is as cheerful as he always is.

"Morning! What are you doing here?" Leona walks to the balcony, followed by Hyunkel and Furora.

"I received the urgent message from the King of Teran this morning. He requests my presence immediately, hence, Pop had to use his teleportation to take me here." Menru says. The doe-eyed beauty wraps her arms around Pop and looks comfortable in the embrace of her fiance.

"Where is Tei Palace Hotel?" Pop asks

"Just next to our building. The King of Teran is staying there." Leona says.

"I see. Thanks. See you later, people." And he disappears at once.

"Well, very interesting." Hyunkel looks at Leona.

She smiles. They both understand why Menru is requested by the King of Teran.

Furora is delighted by a wide range of breads she is trying. The Queen of Carl seems having a pleasant start of the day.

Emmi is a little grumpy. She can't wait until the day ends.

 _..._

The Grand Loug Erne is the location of the Free Trade Zone summit. It's a high class hotel where leaders such as Leona, Furora and the King of Ringaia choose to stay. A crowd of press, media representatives, and citizens of Benga have been surrounding the hotel entrance for several hours before the conference starts to get updated and welcome honor guests from all over the world. The atmosphere is indeed warm and exciting. The King of Benga and his Queen are waiting at the conference hall welcoming the guests. The powerful king is obviously proud of the hospitality of his nation. He greets Leona and her team warmly and has no doubt the brilliant young queen would stubbornly be against his stand.

 _No matter what, she is too young to maintain her stubbornness_. He believes.

...

It has come to the middle of the day and the meeting has been on for over an hour.

"I support the free trade zone." King Carlos of the Romos confirms. "However, Albert, you know I would never give up the value of my currency, just like you won't with yours."

"I have never doubted at it, Carlos." The King of Benga says lightly. "How about you, my dear Furora?"

"My point of view remains the same, and you all understand what I concern is the high level of risk to place on this idea of a sole currency."

"Very well." With a smile, he turns to Leona, "Then I believe Queen Leona would have a new perspective, consider the long term relationship in trading and other corporations between our countries?"

"Before sharing my point, I'd like to present a project of logistic development among our nations, which is to benefit the free trade zone supported by us."

Leona has Hyunkel conducted the presentation. There is no surprise leaders of all kingdoms are attracted by his charisma. In addition to that, the plan does fascinate them. It proposes a solution to erase the current logistic problems, shorten travel time among bordering countries, definitely enhance goods movements and support tourism developments. Hyunkel makes the plan easy for them to understand. He clarifies the cost and timing of construction, as well as estimated construction duration of each phase. Leona is delighted at his presentation and she is sure all leaders feel the same, based on the expressions they can't hide from their faces.

"Fantastic!" Exclaimed by Juan Monaco, the Prince of Ringaia.

"Thanks Prince Juan." Leona smiles to him, "What do you think, Kings and Queen?"

"Excellent." Furora nods with a pride she has for her juniors. _So this is why you ask me not to worry, Leona._

"I would support the project when it comes to our areas." The King of Teran says. He is thinking about what Menru told him this morning about the future she can foreseen.

"So do I, you can have my word, Leona." King Albert of Benga looks at her with admiration. _It's a brave idea yet essential for the development of all kingdoms. Can't believe she is able to initiate it. Why don't I have these people in my system_. He secretly envies.

"This is what I find useful for our Free Trade zone. There is no reason you don't have the full supports from Romos. Unlike the idea of currency unifying..."

"What do you mean, Carlos? Benga currency is the strongest and would help you to get rid of your low value currency."

"Thank you, but no, thanks." The King of Romos insists.

"Leona, tell us, who are you siding?" His majesty of Benga asks Leona impatiently.

"King Albert, your nation should continue to be the world's leading economy and have your currency be ours' benchmark." Leona replies.

"So you mean..."

"Just as my counselor, Emmi, mentioned to me another day, Papunika should take the challenge to prove ourselves through our own currency. I understand Benga currency is very strong and it can prevent our financial loss in term of trading, yet to look at the situation and opportunities fairly, if your currency is stronger and you gain more value, so it be. I believe our products provide good value for Benga's traders, as similar as our consumers are in favor of Benga's brands. "

King Albert is not in the position to pressure Leona any longer, as he is very keen on her project about the logistic. Meanwhile, he is not losing anything. With opportunities coming through the Free Trade Zone and better logistic connection, he has a strong confidence that Benga currency would remain the strongest. In addition, good relationships with all leaders are essential for him to reinforce his position.

"Well, then I respect your point of view." He says to Leona, and makes a wrap for the end of day one conference.

The first day ends after almost three hours, yet everybody is quite excited about upcoming opportunities and developments to their nations. Press interviews, official photographing, city visits are arranged right after the conference, followed by the refreshments of high tea.

Juan Monaco looks at Emmi quickly before he leaves the hall.

Emmi is still staring at Hyunkel, who is in a discussion with Leona and Benga King, and wishes if she can continue to be a part of his life.

...

"No more discussion about work at this time." Leona stops Marlin and Apollo before they can ask her how the conference went.

She is back to Papunika when all diplomatic functions at Benga is over for the day. Avan picks her and Furora up by his teleportation. Leona is very eager to help on Pop and Menru's wedding setup. There are so many things about her shared duties with Marm that they have not gone though, while the wedding is coming the day after.

When Larhalt, Avan, Pop, Apollo and some more workers are setting up the reception tents, dance floor and doing the painting, Furora, Menru and Marlin take care of the floral decorations. Sitting in the garden at that sunset time, Leona and Marm start arranging the guest seating and designing the wedding agenda. All of them work hard until night falls and they stop for dinner.

"Shall we wait for Hyunkel?" Furora asks.

"Maybe not, I don't know when would he come." Leona looks at Marm.

Marm has no idea about it, too. She just knows she is missing him badly. The closer she is to him, the stronger affection she has. Marm knows she has already loved Hyunkel more and more after everyday.

When they start coming into the house, Hyunkel appears at the door step and almost bumps into those near to him.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Not too late. So far so good!" Pop cheers up.

"Come, let have dinner first." Avan pushes everybody into the seats.

"Hey, a kiss mark on your cheek, mister!" Carly shouts.

They all look at Hyunkel and he embarrassingly wipes it off.

"Our Emmi is still very childish, please forgive her, Hyunkel." Apollo apologies, but he looks happy. Marlin, Emmi and him are in a team since childhood and he has a very close relationship with Emmi, like natural siblings.

"Apollo, they are no longer together." Marlin whispers to him.

"Why?" He tends to have more questions, but Marlin gives him a sign to wait.

"Wow... so you have a girlfriend already. I was thinking you and Marm are..." Carly wants to tease him when they are taking seats.

"Carly!" Furora quickly stops her.

Hyunkel looks at Marm and she shows no emotion to him, however, the look from her eyes seem challenging. Very quickly, Marm turns to Menruru to say something.

"See what do we have for tonight?" Avan changes the topic.

"It's tempting, sensei." Pop helps him." Crispy skin grilled duck confit, cider-brined pork chops with maple-bacon chutney, black cod brulee, stir fried broccoli with scallops, ceci and porcini mushroom bisque..."

"Thanks for the yummy treat, sensei." Leona's voice is sweet. "My hard working day is paid off."

"How hardworking were you today?" Pop asks her.

"I worked from 9am till 6pm!"

"Excellent effort! Considering she is the only Queen in world who works half day everyday!"Pop teases.

Everybody laughs. They all know how often does Leona sneak out of her palace after the morning meetings.

"Our queen is a bit ... ok, I would say... work hard and play three times harder, nevertheless, she is one of the smartest, let toast for her successful meeting today at Benga!" Avan initiates.

"Cheers."

"So would you guys have to be back to Benga tonight?" Pop asks

"Yes, we do. There is a final voting tomorrow, and the conference would end at noon." Leona smiles.

"And then we would welcome my parents, Mr Crocodiles and the rest, they would arrive tomorrow afternoon." Pop is excited.

"And we would have a big party tomorrow night!" Avan exclaims. "Let's cheer again, children and wife."

To Pop, things seems progressing well after every day. It has been over a week from the day Marm rejected him officially. It has also been over a week from the day Hyunkel showed too much care toward Marm when the wedding was cancelled. There has always been an unspoken thing between them from the beginning, but they did not face it. He thinks, his first love for Marm would be a beautiful memory soon.

And the dinner is delicious. After it, they quickly rush to the wedding setting.

"Don't misunderstand." Hyunkel walks toward Marm as she is alone standing next to window studying the trade agreement documents in her hands. Looking at him, she is feeling so envied of Emmi. _He lets Emmi kissed him while he refused hugging me, in the end, it's so obvious that Emmi and him will never apart. And I'm a fool._

"On what?" She replies shortly.

"It's her goodbye kiss, I could not avoid." He stands in front of her.

"At your speed? Who would believe that?" She continues reading her documents without looking at him.

"Marm is angry."

"You shouldn't bother."

"Don't be angry, it's over for me and her."

"Over in a romantic way."

"It's just a final kiss from her, means nothing to me."

"But still she has kissed you."

"Don't mind that, please."

"The relationship between Emmi and you is something I can't interfere. I just realise that we shouldn't have had the idea of caring for each other. You should care for the one you love. Don't care for me."

"No, after all these, I can't. And I never have the intention to reconcile with Emmi. Marm, could we spend some time together tomorrow morning?"

And he waits for her to reply but she just keeps quite. This is the first time he doesn't know what to do. It's so difficult to understand Marm but he never finds it a problem except this time.

"Hey guys, come here for the light testing!" They hear Pop's loud voice.

Everyone is gathering in the garden. The area has beet set up beautifully with big reception tents and dance floor. All are painted in white. Tables are chairs and standing tables are placed and dressed up nicely. The basic floral decorations are done, more detailed and sophisticated flower arrangements would be completed by the morning of the wedding day. Apollo turns on the light system and the place turns to a miracle, they feel like standing with the stars and are enchanted by lovely atmosphere surrounding them .

And there is a sweet taste of a lovely night, but it's not so sweet for Marm and Hyunkel.

 **End Chapter 6.**


	7. Chapter 7 - When His Angel Falls In Love

**Chapter 7: When His Angel Falls In Love  
**

Menruru happily dances in the room. Marm, sitting on the bed and looking at the reflection of Menruru from the mirror, has never seen Menruru this beautiful. Her friend is like a fairy from the forest. Marm looks at the lovely bride to be with admiration, and then Marm remembers the not-so-nice conversation with Hyunkel last night and her mood is down.

"Have you tried the gown & the dress, Marm?" Menruru's voice cuts her memory.

"Yes, I tried them on yesterday. Both fits perfectly. Can I wear it from morning till night tomorrow? I mean, seriously? I don't have any gowns like this..." At least Menruru and Leona are here… she would nag with them when Menru's wedding is over.

"No, how can I let Marm wear one dress tomorrow? Why didn't you tell me darling?" Furora steps into the room, followed by Leona.

"Fufu and Leona, when did you come back?" Marm is surprised.

"Avan took us back. I called him saying that I can't wait to be back and help my lovely girl on her wedding preparation." Fufu holds Menruru's hands fondly and gives Marm a kiss on cheek.

"Thanks sensei."

Furora walks toward the balcony and smiles seeing the wedding setup that matches her expectation. Tables were covered in white linens with silver chargers and napkins, adorned with plum ribbons and monogrammed tags. Additionally, purple, pink, and ivory flowers were arranged in silver vases of varying sizes. Rows of chairs in white, in the vow area, would be attached with purple and ivory roses. Also, an air of romance is underscored with an aisle to be covered in delicate flower petals.

"Marlin has done a great job, hasn't she?" Fufu tells Leona.

The queen of Papunika nods with an agreement. "Marlin is very experienced in events. But it's not completely done yet, we want to surprise Menruru and Pop tomorrow, don't we?"

They are back to the room and are stunned by the gorgeous bride on her wedding dress. Menru is in the beautiful A-line gown with beaded embroidery on the corset and elegant flow made of chiffon. It fits her body in every inch and reveal her curves elegantly.

"Wow... stunning..." All of them love the wedding gown at the first sight. On top of it, it's Menru who wears the gown so well. They are feeling so right for a champagne to cheer to Menru. "Let put on our bridesmaid gowns, too, Marm.. How about you, Fufu, what would you dress tomorrow?" Leona asks while pouring the sparkling wine.

"Me? I'd look great darling. Will show you tonight." Fufu laughs. Furora and Leona are a good pair in shopping.

...

When she steps in the coffee shop her group of friends have breakfast every morning, Hyunkel is already there. She was so into the dress celebration time with the girl friends that she gets really late. She sits down while he is looking at her. Naturally he has a cold look that expresses no emotion. This makes him very attractive yet distant. But unlike everybody, Marm has never found any distance from him, not even when she met him at the first time.

"Sorry I'm late."

Hyunkel has been waiting for more than an hour. He didn't call her because he was not sure if Marm has made up her mind. And not to his surprise, he is really happy now seeing Marm.

Marm observes Hyunkel as he is ordering foods for both of them. "Are you released because the conference is over?" She asks.

"Could you come here Marm, sit next to me."

She stands up and walks toward him. Through time they have developed an unspoken attachment to each other. Marm trusts Hyunkel completely, either it's his intentions toward her, his nature or his sense of right and wrong. He gently holds her hands and keep them in his, "Can I say something, Marm?"

She nods. It's her dear Hyunkel. Yesterday night, she stayed awake till very late and thought carefully. No matter what is he going to tell her, she will take it and support him, because she loves him very much. _I never wants to see the sadness of his eyes again._

"Marm, it's really over between Emmi and me."

"Ok." She nods. So that would be it. There is no reason for her to not believe Hyunkel's words. Meanwhile, she herself doesn't want to talk about his past relationship with Emmi any longer.

"Also, I would not have many chances to work with her any more. After Pop's wedding ceremony, I'd leave Papunika and move to Romos." He tells Marm.

"What?" She looks at him full of surprise.

"You know Romos very well, don't you?"

"Yes...It's my hometown."

He smiles. "I know. That's why I'd move there."

"Why?" It's unexpected by her. "Isn't thing great here for you? You are loved by people in Papunika, Leona and you are working so well, our friends are here, and you may born here, too."

"It's fine. Good things happened in Papunika would still be here. I'm just looking for a place of the future, somewhere I see Marm."

"I made you give up your work in Papunika, didn't I ?"

She doesn't look happy as he thought she would. On the contrary, he feels the sadness from her. "It's ok. I know what to do there, I have all the plans. Don't be sad, Marm."

"Are you sure? Will you regret?"

"I don't regret. We will be doing well in Romos. If you still keep your words of taking care of me." He gently strokes her hair and holds her into him.

She keeps quite and stays in his embrace as an acceptance.

Again he holds both of her hands sincerely, saying, "Marm, you came to my life like an angel, very precious to me, I can't do anything that disappoints you. But I never expected to be with you, because I was not sure if I can commit to make my angel happy forever."

"Hyunkel, you takes me as an angel?" It's another things she has never expected.

"You always are."

"No, you are wrong… Hyunkel. I'm not an angel at all. I care for you alot because… I.. _I love you_ _._ Not the kind of love I have for everyone, but the kind of personal love, only...for you." Blood rushes to her face as she talks.

"What are you talking, Marm?"

She quickly studies the expression of his face but is not able to find out anything. Not able to do so when her heart beats so fast when confessing to him.

"I was no longer an angel since the day I fall in love with you. I know you treasure me more than any girls you may possibly love. It's the type of person you are, you treasure friendship more than yourself. Am I right? I gave me the right to get angry with you and Emmi but I have the similar feelings Emmi has for you. "

"When did you fall in love with me?" That's the only thing he pays attention to.

"I don't know." She moves her hands away from his.

"You are very bad, Marm." He looks into her eyes and concludes.

"Now you know... So don't give up Papunika to move to Romos."

"I'd still go to Romos." Hyunkel says.

"Ok..."

"What Ok?"

"You go wherever you want to go." _Who am I to stop him_. She thinks.

"I'd only go to Romos because I want to have a future with you. Do you get it?"

"Yes, I get it."

"How do you really get it?" He asks with doubts.

Hyunkel comes closer again, and holds Madm's hands in him again. Looking at her eyes, he feels so much loves for his angel, more than any single time he has ever felt. "You are very bad, Marm, confusing me during such a long time. But why I feel this pleasant, this happy and fortunate to be loved by you." He gives a gentle kiss on her hands.

Marm is stunned.

"I haven't finished what I was saying just now. I was not able to commit to you before, but from now I commit to spend the rest of my life bringing you happiness. That's why I'm doing my best to be in Romos, so it's easy for me to accompany you in the future. Now you get it, my bad angel?"

He would never forget this look of her. She is shy, surprised, her cheeks blush and her eyes smile, her lips are slightly parted. He is pretty sure she gets it.

"You want to be with me, do I get it right?" She asks softly.

"Yes, you are so right." He gently pinches her cheek. "I always want to be with you, Marm, but I _didn't_ want you to be with me who made many mistakes and conducted a lot of wrong things in the fast. There may be someone better for you, you know?"

"I don't care." She shakes head. "You have done your best, no one is better than you."

"What makes you love me, Marm?" He asks.

"I don't know."

It's the way of responding he can expect from Marm, sometimes she is like an open book, sometimes a close book. He just knows he has never felt this good before.

"You used to say, when I love someone without knowing the reason, it's for the sake of my heart. I think it's quite correct. But the person I love that way is not Pop, it's you." Marm admits softly.

"I see, I'm a stupid." He holds her closer.

"And your eyes..."

"Ok..."

"And your body..."

"What to do with my body?"

"Nothing.." She is embarrassed.

"Ok... I didn't notice Marm like it." He smiles, "I would work hard to maintain then."

"I don't think you need to work hard." She giggles. "If you work harder to be more attractive, how can I get rid of you when I want to?"

"You won't get rid of me, miss." Hyunkel embraces her so tight that she can feel his breath, their eyes met at a very close distance, still the warmth it has been for years.

The place they are siting is surrounding them with morning sunshine and melody, and naturally Marm leans forward and kisses his cheek. There are something Hyunkel can't resist when Marm's body moves softly in his arms.

"This side, too." said him.

"Ok..." After a moment, she kisses as requested and receives a lip-lock that wouldn't let her go.

 **End Chapter 7.**


	8. Chapter 8 - Except He Is

**Chapter 8 - Except He Is**

After the dress celebration with Menru, Leona alone carries the task to pick up a cake Menru has ordered for Pop. O _ne very little thing I help Menru & Pop_. Leona slightly blames herself for not contributing a lot of time to her best friends' wedding.

The afternoon has come yet wind doesn't stop blowing, bringing in the air a very nice scene of spring flowers.

As she is reaching Titika, the memory of that funny afternoon with Larhalt comes back. Naturally, she feels like talking to him. "Hi, I'm back. What're you doing? Wanna _" She is leaving a voice message to him.

"Hi Leona, I'm here. I have a news; I'm just granted the citizenship of Papunika." His voice is warm and deep and sound excited. She doesn't think he would reply immediately and his news is quite surprised for her.

"What? Why you never tell me when started applying?"

"Would you make it more difficult for me?" He suspects

"Not really. Probably might have added a remark to my officer that this guy doesn't agree to join our army, doesn't like discipline, and hence must approve with condition."

"What condition?" Asked interestingly.

"Either to serve the army periodically or pay high tax."

"Don't treat me too bad, your Majesty." At his side, he is smiling."Where are you now?"

"Almost at Titika."

"Could I see you there?"

"Sure... But don't you have to pick up Crocodile and others?"

"I'm only a back up, those guys can manage, I guess."

"Ok... Let's meet at Sugar Creation."

"Where's it?"

"Find out yourself."

...

 _Can he stop being good looking?_ Leona thinks. The moment seeing him standing outside the bakery, her heart skips a beat. He can be a very close friend except he suddenly becomes so attractive. He is outstanding in the crowd with his tall and athletic body. In a dark-colored shirt that is well-fitted with both sleeves folded up, revealing the strong forearms, he is not only only looking handsome, but also manly and smart, which she believes quite true a reflection on his real person.

He smiles and walks toward her. Leona is always perfect at her look. It's very normal that people have to stop their eyes on her appearance because she is so good to look at, a beauty with blonde hair in a gorgeous body, carrying a natural elegance and sweetness. He likes her and respects her and lets nothing else be in between.

"Are you buying some cakes?"

"I pick up Pop's cake."

"Why would he need one?" Larhalt is surprised.

"It's common in all places, either Teran or Papunika or Romos. The wedding cake is for the bride. So the bride would prepare a cake for the groom at the rehearsal dinner."

"I see. Interesting."

They walk to the bakery together and people on the street keep looking at them admiring a beautiful pair. It's not difficult to find good looking persons in Papunika. But Leona inherits the royal bloodline and her beauty reflects the unique sense of royalty, she is blonde and her eyes are blue, walking next to Larhalt who is outstanding at his own traits, they make a lovely highlight on Titika streets today.

Glancing through products displayed in the store, Larhalt sees different creations of cakes in tributes of the grooms 'favorites. Still he doesnt understand why the groom would need a cake. Pop may prefer a big main course. But being with Leona to carry the packed cake, this groom's-cake kind of thing doesn't bother him at all.

The human society has many traditions and norms that amaze Ladhalt as he did not really experience these before. Himself, among with Hyunkel, Crodolide, Hym and even Avan have to adapt to the human societies since they have been away for a long time. That Avan and Hyunkel have more interactions and experiences while Crocodile and Hym choose to live in the island, Larhalt becomes the only one who bears the most lessons of cultures for daily life. Inspite of many difficulties, he is coping better than his expectation.

It's not surprising because he is one of the smartest in Baran's team, who is quick at mind and very intelligent, has a good memory, owns a skill to analyze and visionize to get things done.

He has no problem to figure out how he wants his life to be in this peaceful world. He knows this is the time to contribute and develop, also the time when each kingdom would compete in a cooprorative way. The competitions and opportunities interest him. Hence, he decides to stay at Papunika rather than folllowing others to Burasu's island. He chooses Papunika because the kingdom is a second closest place to tributes of Baran and Dai, after Teran. He is never interested in Teran (apology to Menruru) which doesnt fit his personalities. He doesn't have any hometown to return to. Larhalt doesnt remember any origin of himself except that he was reborn by Baran.

Sadly he is not sure if he is a human although he has the same basic human needs and physical features. Since his friends and all others treat him like one, he has developed a strong sense of belonging and bonding to the societies of human. He applies to be an official citizen of Papunika and starts his own business in property and banking. It's true he won't be able to stand the discipline and training in Papunika army because his passion lies in the big world which he is going to discover, although he knows Baran would expect him to excel in army, area he is well-trained.

Leona is a smart queen who approached him to serve her royal army, and she ended up accepting his rejection. Recently she becomes a person who he likes very much, he even realizes he can like her more after everyday when they become closer. And up to now, it reaches a level where she can make him change his mind. Since she keeps mentioning about his service to the army, since she really wants him to be there, he would be there. In the comparison between his freedom to discover the world and the discipline to protect Leona and her country, crazily, he would go for her, although he is not born with an obligation to do so.

"Sorry that I rejected to serve you earlier. Do you still want me to join Papunika army now?" He asks when driving them back to the palace.

Sitting next to him and happily texting Marm, Leona is not expected to hear this, she asks in surprise, "What happened ?"

"Nothing. All are normal."

"But you are not. Are you joking or are you sick?"

"I admit I did not want any commitment last time." He says calmly, "But now, I have a strong will to protect you. I'm willing to join your army, so I can protect you."

All she can perceive is the toughness yet warmth of his words. For the perspective of her army, she should accept his request. But she feels like taking his will more personally.

"Are you jobless?"

"No, my work is doing well." _More than being well, I enjoy it very much_. He thinks of his business.

"I know, I'm just kidding." She smiles. "I know how much money you are making, and it is a much bigger fortune compared to the limitted wage paid by the army. You would regret, Larhalt."

"I won't." He shakes his head and looks at her gently. "There is a personal reason I can't tell you, but be assured I won't regret and will do my best in the army."

"No way. Now I suspect you are a spy from other kingdoms." She jokes with him.

"I'm very serious, my queen." He keeps driving.

"So do I. Can you stop driving and have a proper conversation please?"

Thus he stops the car to focus on the conversation.

"Any kingdom leader would like you to join the army, just like me, they know how good you are. But at a personal level, I believe you should pursue your own plans. I know joining any army is never your plan, am i right?"

"Who is protecting you when you are out of Papunika?"

"I'm not a weakling."

"You are weak." He can't help smiling.

"Who says? I'm one of Avan sensei's students."

"You have never done any proper training sofar."

Her face turns red. She is really lazy at training. "But it doesn't relate to you. You are not joining Papunika army, I'm not supporting it, ok?"

"I can't understand. One day you'd like me to do this and in the very next days, you change."

" I just asked you to join once and that's it. You have never bothered any things I say."

"If I didn't bother, I would not change my mind."

"There is no need to change your mind. I dont need any protection from you."

"Fine, I get it. Now can we go?"

 _Oh my god, he drives me so mad. He even looks away and wants to stop the conversation._ To her surprise, she suddenly gets a weird anger toward him, and the major reason is caused by his ignorance on her feeling.

"Are you angry?" He asks when looking at her face again.

"Why would I get angry over this thing."

"You are angry..." He can notice.

"I care for you so much, and you..." She can't continue. She doesnt want him to do anything he doesnt like, but why does this make him mad? And why are there many different emotions inside herself to confuse her at the time being?"

"I'm sorry. I care for you, too." He calmed down. "But don't keep changing your mind, I don't know how to cope with."

"When did I change my mind?"

"Why did you ask me to join your army and reject my offer now?"

"Because... you are more like a friend to me now. I dont treat this situation as Papunika Queen, i treat this so personally. This is bad Larhalt. Don't tell anybody especially Apollo, Marlin & Emmi." She sighs.

"You didn't take me as a friend earlier?"

She doesn't know how to answer without hurting his feeling. It's true she never took him as a friend before. Why would she? He was cold.

"It's fine." He smiles. "But as time goes on, I feel that I can't stand seeing you facing every challenges without any protection. You are not like Marm or Furora, you strength is quite average, Leona."

"Not that bad." She denies. She never pays attention to her safety as she believes no one can harm her since there is a great power of the whole Papunika lay behind. But it would be good if Larhalt is there to guard her. Then the triple counsellors (Marlin, Apolo and Emmi) can stop recruiting safeguards who are annoying, for examples: following her everywhere.

"I feel so good that you care for me. I really do. Thank you." She smiles at him again but he doesn't see it while driving.

"So do you accept my job application?" He insists.

"You can be my personal guard. You don't have to serve the army on a full-time basis, just be there for me whenever I'm going overseas. Is it good?"

"How much is the pay?"

"You are mean again."

He laughs, "I have never acted mean to you before. I take this role."

"Good." She turns back to her phone. "Now I would announce that you are my official safeguard. I'm happy with this, too."

Making a commitment to protect and care for someone like her, he at the moment is determined by a youth that sees no limitations or impossibilities. Walking in the time of youth, the roads in front are endlessly long and the stars always seem out of reach, but it seems to be a good way as well, when he can do something useful for the person he cares, in a personally level too.

 **End Chapter 8.**


	9. Chapter 9 - My Memory Was Not Mine

**Chapter 9: My memory was not mine**

She never wants him to use the dark magic and he does the best everyday to compensate his mistakes of the past.

But he never knows, the dark magic cast by him that lasts longest, is the one that on her and himself.

...

The harbor of Papunika offers a stunning location of logistic hubs in a shoreline and a beautiful city by the bay in another side. With its many beaches, coves, bays, waterways, the harbor has made itself one of the best well-known for the reputation of Papunika being a beautiful and wealthy kingdom. Arranged by Leona, a private ferry terminal in the harbor is booked for Pop and Menru's wedding. The terminal is located in a private entrance and is decorated nicely with flowers and mono color tags that goes with the wedding theme.

Pop is stationed there since the morning to get everyone as and when they arrives. It's so excited to expect a great reunion with everybody: Crocodile, Hym, Chu, Brass from the Monster island, Lonberk and Nova from Carl, Matoriv and Reila from Romos, his parents from Lankart and Menru's grandma from Teran.

Half day has passed and almost everybody has arrived. They now must be having fun at somewhere in the lively Papunika before gathering for tonight's rehearsal and reunion dinner. Leona and Larhalt accompany Crocodile and gang for a food trip while Marm takes Chu to get a proper suite for the wedding. Avan brings Lonberk and Nova to a drink, Pop's parents are roaming around the city hall of Papunika with Menruru and Furora. There is only Hyunkel with him now waiting at the ferry. The guest list is not long anymore, they are expecting the last three guests: Menru's granny, Matoriv- his sensei and Reila- Marm's mother.

Greeting Menru's granny is equally important to Pop as greeting his parents, if he doesn't want to note that the granny would be much more difficult to be pleased.

Finally, a Teran ship is approaching the ferry. The two young men have a reunion with the tiny witch aka future reader of Teran, who looks totally different from her dove-eyed beautiful grand daughter.

"Pop, where have you been?" The granny grabs a cup of fruit juice from the crew member and starts shouting for Pop.

"I'm here, granny. So glad you have arrived safely." Pop walks toward with a grin that may have stolen Menru's heart.

But sure it doesn't work the same way for the bride's granny.

"How come you let me travel with your old dirty sensei? I hate him so much! My journey has become frustrating! I think you know teleport? Why didnt you take me here with it? You sure made a mistake, Pop!"

Pop looks really worried while trying to get the full story. "My sensei? We have arranged a private ship for you as your request..."

"My request? _As if I really mean it_! It would be better if you take me here with teleport. And what kind of arrangement is this? Why did the ship stop at Romos for half of a day?" The granny is furious.

Pop is having no clue at all.

"Probably it... must follow certain routine and... paperwork before entering Papunika." Pop tries to explain, hinting Hyunkel for support.

"No, Poppu. The ship arrived at Romos to pickup Reila and me. I asked Menruru for this and the girl has kindly arranged. Are you sure you are her granny?" Matoriv steps out of the ship.

"Oh my god, you old folk! Take this." The granny angrily casts a spell Matoriv before Pop can stop her. But Matoriv is able to avoid it and he is so ready to take revenge.

"Stop, please, you two..." Pop dismisses the spell of Matoriv and stands in between. They can't catch up with his current power.

Menru's granny floats on her crystal ball toward the crew member and says "Get me a separated car, and more fruit juice."

"Sure ma'am."

"I'm not Marm. Why Marmmmm all the time? How could she be more beautiful than my Menruru?"

"No, I mean..."

The granny has got into the car and slammed the door before the service staff can finish his sentence.

"Phew..." Pop sighs. "I always hope this won't happen, but..."

"Don't bother, Poppu, as long as Menruru and you are happy." Matoriv walks slowly in to him.

"Sensei, thanks for coming." Pop bowls gratefully. "Did you hurt your legs?" He notices.

"Yes, and that's why I asked Menruru if there is any ship to pick up us."

"If I have known this I should take you here with teleport."

"You can do so? You should have used it to that witch. Gosh, she is so noisy all the way."

"Eh... because granny's crystal ball... is something I can't move..." Pop is embarrassed.

"Get some more practice, son." Matoriv hits Pop with his club.

"Is my mom here?" It's Marm's voice when she is running toward them.

"Oh Marm... you look even more grown up."

"Dont ever have the intention to touch her, sensei." Pop stops Matoriv.

Marm with her legs and body, it's hard to not eye. Pop knows this is especially applicable for this sensei.

"Why? She has cancelled the wedding with you, right? Poor Marm, she must be lonely."

"No, she is not. You touch her and..."

"Mr Matoriv! Long time no see." Marm is front of them. "What are you two doing?" She looks at Pop and Matoriv.

"Don't bother Marm. Your mom is still inside the ship."

"I see. I'd go get my mom then."

"I'd accompany you, Marm." Matoriv follows her.

"It's ok, she is with me." Hyunkel says.

Matoriv is sure disappointed. He tends to walk away but something is drawing his attention when passing by Hyunkel. He turns back to take a look and concludes,  
"I see. Unfortunately you have casted a spell on her, and on yourself, too. Such a pity."

Pop and Hyunkel look at him with a question mark. They obviously have no idea.

"Don't remember?" Matoriv gazes at Hyunkel's blue eyes.

"I've never done that." He says.

"Then I must be wrong." The old man grins.

...

Marm is having a good time with her mom and Hyunkel on the drive way to Leona's private cottage, where members of the bride's side would reside. Meanwhile,Pop takes Matoriv to join Avan's happy hours with Lonbrek and Nova.

Reila, Marm's mother, is a beautiful woman at her age. There is an aura of caring and loving from her, just like it is from Marm.

As a mother, Reila would like Marm to have a more correct family size. She was going to ask Pop to make up his mind before marrying both her daughter and another lovely young lady. In general, Reila is very offensive to the idea of sharing a husband and can never image this would happen to Marm. Out of a sudden, Marm informed the withdrawal, this made Reila feel better but she needs to meet and make sure her child is fine.

In the ferry when Marm introduced Hyunkel, Reila silently acknowledged his outstanding attractiveness. Reila knows he is the boy that Avan took care of before visiting Neiru village to train Marm. Hadn't Avan lost him, he must have been knowing Marm from the childhood. Reila shared it with them.

"Gone missing? No, he didn't get lost, mom. The reason why Avan sensei didn't take him to our village is because he was way more naughty." Marm tells Reila but it's obvious that she is teasing Hyunkel.

"And I heard from Avan sensei that somebody was a cry baby at all time."

Reila smiles, "Yes, Avan is right. Marm loved crying."

"Mom..."

"But, Hyunkel, Marm has grown up to be a pretty young lady, hasn't she?" Reila asks, unpredictably.

Hyunkel looks at Marm whose cheeks are so blushed and unexpectedly, he gets shy, too, when understands that Reila means much more than a question.

"You two are shy. Great. Now, I really need to ask more questions. How long have you been dating?"

"...Just today... mom."

"Where are your parents, Hyunkel? What are they doing?"

"All my family may have passed away, ma'am. But we must be from Papunika, I heard that from my adoptive father."

"Oh I see... I'm sorry for your lost, Hyunkel. Are you living with your adoptive father?"

"No, Mrs Reila. He too passed away when I was six. After that, Avan sensei raised me for a few years until, like what Marm said, I did something wrong and lived on my own."

"So you have grown up on your own and handled it well, just like _Ruka_. Keep being strong." Reila smiles to him.

"Hyunkel, someday you tell me stories about how you lived on your own after leaving Avan sensei, ok?" Marm looks at him in a way that is impossible for him to resist.

"Ok." He would have kissed her now if Reila is not sitting at the back row.

"So what are you doing now, Hyunkel?" Reila keeps asking.

"He is in the authorities of Papunika for the buildings and constructions, mom. But he is moving to Romos soon." Marm replies happily on behalf of him.

Reila nods. Probably that's all she wants to know at the moment. Avan and Her Majesty Furora may be able to tell her more. But she feels good about Marm and Hyunkel, they remind her of Ruka and herself _once upon a time_. Reila looks at the peaceful streets of Papunika outside the car window. Youth has come and gone like the wind, but memories and love stay.

When they reach the place, Furora is there waiting for Reila outside the cottage and walk her into the house. They have never met each other before but Furora has always treasured the courage of Ruka, who was also Avan's best friend and leader.

As Hyunkel and Marm are left at the gate, he can't resist to embrace her and kiss her forehead, "Something is bothering me." He caresses her hairs and tells her what Matoriv said.

...

"Did you do that?" _There is no way he did._ She remembers exactly everything happened between them including those first times fighting with him and captured by his army.

"No."

"Then why would you bother?"

"Because it's related to you. Kind of my weaknesses."

"Why am I your weakness? I should be your strength." She complains.

"Are you sure? Get yourself out of my arms first."

She tries to show her power but she can't move. And before she can make more attempts, she easily falls into his lip services again.

At the same time, Matoriv is telling Avan what he found out just now.

 **-End Chapter 9-**


	10. Chapter 10 - Tonight, We Are Young (I)

**C** **hapter 10: Tonight, we are young. (Part 1)**

In a pub near Avan's place, Pop and many guests of his wedding have already been in the real party. It started with Avan, Lonberk and Nova, then joinned by Leona, Larhalt, Crocodie and all, including Matoriv & Chu who was taken there by him.

Marm and Hyunkel are the last to come. Marm knew her sensei's group must be having a big party somewhere. Leona even texted her and Menruru to join. Being the person who can stay awake the best when all other friends are drunk, Marm is so well-prepared to make sure everybody be on time for the rehearsal dinner. Marm feels so funny because this is not the first time she takes this responsibility. Leona loves having fun, especially drinking, same does Pop, Avan sensei, Larhalt, even Fufu and Hyunkel. Today, it would be much more "fun" with participation of other _fun_ -loving friends like Crocodie, Hym, Chu, Matoriv and all.

Obviously Carly has joined the party, too. The young princess of Carl looks very excited seeing Marm when she arrives.

"Marm, since you are late, you have to wear this." Carly is holding a bunny-ear-like thing.

"What is this?" Marm looks at it curiously.

"Put it on your head... that's the punishment for late comer." Carly does it for Marm.

"Are you sure there is such rule or are you guys just bullying me?" Marm looks at her with doubts.

"It's the rule, Marm, which we have just set just. Hehehe." Leona giggles with Carly.

 _Oh my god_. Marm thinks, and walks to Leona "Are you drunk? Leona? Fufu would kill you."

"No, I'm not." The queen laughs. "It's just so funny here! Why are you so late? You are with Hyunkel, aren't you? I know." Leona hugs Marm and smiles.

Marm must acknowledge Leona's amazing level of observation.

"Yes, I'm with him." Marm leans forward to Leona and whispers, "We have kissed."

"You did?" Leona's eyes are sparkling. "You two did? It's so sweet."

Marm's cheeks are slightly blushed. She would never forget that the world has paused for quite long when they first kissed.

"Leona, you have always been supportive. Sometimes I forget that you are the younger one. Last night, when I thought about the courage of you and Menruru, I believed even if Hyunkel rejected me, I'd still have you all who wants me to be happy."

"Are you sure? We can't kiss you like he does, we don't embrace you the way he does and definitely don't have that body of him." Leona teases her friend. "And, it's so painful to get hurts in love. You'd better treasure everything you have, my unni. Sometimes you are so unaware of men."

"Yes... you can only give right statement." Marm smiles while doesn't really understand what Leona says. "I wish Menruru is here. Why does she have to stay home?"

"It's the tradition. She and Pop should not meet a lot on the day before wedding."

"I see. So tonight, Leona, are we really gonna dance?"

"Yes! It's what Menru likes, You can't withdraw. I'm not gonna do it without you."

"No. I'm not withdrawing. I'm just not getting any better with it, but, whatever."

"What are you talking about? Let's drink!" Carly comes to them with two shots of tequila.

"This is too strong for me." The queen says.

"I'd take it for Leona." Marm finishes the shot with Carly.

Next to them, Hyunkel has to drink as the punishment of being late. He happily accepts it.

Avan is not really enjoying. He is bothered by what Matoriv has just told him. "My wife calls. We have to go back now, everybody." Avan says.

"Ok, then we would continue at the dinner." Pop makes a wrap.

Surprised by Marm, everyone turns out be very controlling. Marm doesn't have to do anything. Nobody is getting drunk here.

"Where is something you wore on your hair?" Hyunkel is walking to her. They were occupied by different groups of friends until now. But still, it's not easy to not keep an eye on her even they have spent a lot of time together from the morning.

"You look so cute on that." He says and doesn't realize this is the first time he has ever commented on her appearance.

However, Marm definitely acknowledges it. Being a fighter among a group of guys for a long time, Marm has never wondered if she is beautiful in eyes of anybody. There have been many perverts take their chances on her but Hyunkel... No. He has never made any comments or paid any attention on her appearance. So far he is only concerned about her safety. Is this because they are together now? _But CUTE is not beautiful. It's ok. Since he likes this_. "I wear it again for you." She happily puts it on to show him and makes a bunny face.

He looks at her for a while and in stead of making any more positive comments as she wishes, he just embraces her passionately and finding her lips.

To Marm, the world is not pausing any seconds now. They are not only in the pub, they are in front of everybody. And if Marm opens her eyes, she would know that they are not only in front of everybody, they are in front of questioning eyes of everybody.

When leaving her lips, to response to friends who are stunned, he simply says "Yes."

She is shy and just staying in his arms while the group of friends are expecting more elaborations.

"I love Marm and I think she loves me, too." He looks at her fondly. "and I got permissions from Avan sensei and Poppu, so if anybody has any questions, ask sensei." As usual, he doesn't talk much.

Friends outside Papunika take the news very eagerly. "No question, no question. You two look great." Hym says.

"When is your turn to get married?" Crocodie laughs. "I can't wait."

They are very simple individuals and have very limited sensitivity to love triangle. So no one has ever questioned the status of both Hyunkel's ex and Marm's ex.

"Take it easy Pop." Leona tells Pop. She is not sure if her friend is really fine accepting the relationship of Hyunkel and Marm at this stage.

"It's ok Leona. I had a talk with him some days ago."

"What?"

"No worry, we are good now. In some way, I don't love Marm the way Hyunkel loves her. No matter how many women fall for him, his love is only for Marm. I have been selfish for a long time to only consider my love for Marm. I have never realized Hyunkel has been loving her the same way."

"How come nobody loves me?" The queen is abit tipsy now.

"Eh..." Pop looks at Leona. There is no way she is not attractive. It must be herself who locks the way back into love. Probably she is still thinking about the past.

Pop places his hand on Leona's shoulder."I want to let you know, it's not easy to get over Marm. But I want to let it go. There are great memories with Marm and they will be there, and that would be all. Marm's images have stopped growing inside me. Leona, we have to move forward if something can't work the way it did in the past."

"Pop, you have grown up, talking like a man now." She says. " I know what you mean. I do know."

He smiles. "And also, you know what, I think Hyunkel is drunk." Pop tells Leona. "Chu and me mixed different kinds of wines to punish him just now." He grins.

"Oh I see. I was surprised that he acted that way in front of everybody."

Avan is glad with the news. He is sure both of his precious students would take a good care of each other. Thiking about what Matoriv said, for the first time Avan wishes something never happened. "Let's cheer for my two kids, everybody." Avan initiates.

"More drink?" Hyunkel asks his sensei, he doesn't remember how much he had to drink as requested. _He is so handsome when he looks uncertain._ Marm eyes on him.

"Are you drunk, mister?" She asks him softly.

He shakes his head. "I'm just sleepy. Stay with me, Marm."

And Marm understands that her Hyunkel is not very awake now.

"No more drink, sensei. Fufu needs us to go back now. We would continue drinking tonight." She tells Avan and everybody.

"Opps, ok then.. Let's go." Avan keeps the wine bottle at the pub.

As Crocodie is too big, Larhalt brings him to Leona's cottage by teleportation. Leona uses Larhalt's car to drive Carly and Gramp Brass. Avan takes Lonberk and Nova, Pop takes Matoriv ,Hym and his father. Marm drives for Hyunkel and Chu wants to join her.

"Unni Marm, whenever Hyunkel is near by, you doesn't look innocent as you do." Chu tells Marm his discovery.

"Chu, don't talk like that." Marm is embarrassed.

"Hey, will you marry my unni? You'd better treat her very very well. Else I will..." Chu climbs onto Hyunkel.

"Your unni... is someone I can never love enough. You rest assure, Chu."

"Good. Then you promise me?" Chu gives a sign for Hyunkel to cross the finger with it to make the promise.

He smiles and follows Chu.

Marm doesn't notice what were Hyunkel and Chu doing as she was concentrating on driving. Placing her hand on Huynkel's, she asks, "Are you ok? How come you seem drunk?"

"Maybe I drink too much without noticing. Just let me sleep for a while and I will be fine." He tells her and falls asleep at one.

"Chu, what did you guys make him drink just now?"

"Eh...I mixed some wine the pub has. I thought it'd be fun." Chu grins.

"No wonder... Chu, people don't drink like this, it's harmful for the body. Don't try it yourself and don't do it on anybody again. Ok?"

"Yes unni." Chu climbs onto Marm. "You looks very happy. Is it because of him?"

"It's difficult to make you understand, Chu. I'm also happy because seeing you and Crocodie and my mom and everybody today. Mr Crocodie has a girflfriend now, is it what you told me in the morning?"

Chu laughs, "Yes. He dates Ms Crocodie secretly, but I know, hehe."

"I hope he would bring her here."

"No, they are fighting now."

"Oh? It's so romantic." Marm smiles.

And with Chu's lovely conversations, the way back to Leona's cottage seems very short for Marm.

...

"Get up, Hyunkel, we have arrived."

He opens his eyes slowly. With features on his face, from his eyebrows to his straight nose and his lips, even Chu finds the man who has just confessed with its unni so good looking compared to others.

"Are we back to Leona's place?"

"Yes." She smiles. "Do you feel better?"

"A lot better."

"Do you remember what you said in the pub?" She asks.

"How can I forget?" He caresses her cheek.

"Hey, how about what you promised me? Do you remember?" Chu asks him.

"Yes, I do." He shows the finger sign to Chu.

-End Chapter 10 (Part 1)


	11. Chapter 11 - Tonight, We Are Young (II)

**Chapter 11: Tonight, We Are Young. (Part 2)**

Leona's cottage is the venue of Pop and Menru's wedding rehearsal dinner. The courtyard of the place is nicely decorated with warm color of lights and cozy theme. Melody has filled in the air of this starry night. Friends are surrounded by each other, making a cozy atmosphere yet spaces are available for everybody's comforts. Foods are served deliciously and drinks are prepared at a quota set by Furora, since there is a plan to go to the club after the dinner.

Menru is beautiful. With the fair skin and gorgeous face, she is stunning in the long white gown that shows her elegant style. Her black hair is simply let open, her slim and beautiful neck is revealing, so is the lovely shoulder. Personally, Pop is not sure how would he handle the moment seeing Menru in the wedding dress tomorrow.

To make a speech at the dinner before the wedding is a tradition the bride cannot skip. Menru doesn't have any natural confidence on public speaking and following no rules, Pop ensures her it's not neccessary. However, Menru places high importance on the value of family and marriage, she was determined to overcome this challenge to make their wedding fullfilling, if it may not be perfect.

The moment Menru stands up and make a speech, she has nailed it at once. Delightedly, the more she talks about Pop, the more she finds how natural it is.

Pop listens carefully to every word that he will remember forever. In later years, it is still easy to play back in his mind. " _When I first met Pop, he was a young person who is full of energy, courage and loves for friends. I'm touched by his great friendship, by his fun loving characteristics and an attitude of never giving up. Pop always inspires me._ " He will also never forget Menru's emotional facial expression and the way she is trying to hold back her tears. " _I know whenever you are by my side, my way would be lighten up and I'm kept warm. I love the way you take care of me and share with me everything. I can't wait for tomorrow to be your bride._ "

He stands up instantly to embraces her. "I can't wait, too. But at this moment, I have already loved you so much, Menru." He looks into her eyes and whispers to her.

"Kiss her!" Somebody says and the rest seem expecting it, too.

Obviously the couple is expecting it themselves.

Pop leans forward to softly kisses Menru's lips and she is responding to him tenderly.

"And please don't get drunk tonight, Pop, so we can successfully get married tomorrow." Menruru smiles, officially ends her speech with the last sentence.

And the night is going on like that.

Pop's groom cake has come to surprise him. It's a cake that figures the amusement park that he is fond of working for. They take a lot of pictures and enjoy the sweet creation.

The biggest surprise comes when the courtyard turns into total darkness. In a glance of eyes, colorful lights are on and Menru, Leona, Marm, Marlin, Carly are walking out in the strong beat of dance music. They are going to dance! Friends and family cheer for the girls loudly.

Menru is a soft-speaking girl. However, she is very creative in arts and is not as introvert as she appears. Dancing is a kind of art for Menru and is one of her hobbies. Because of this, she has no problem dressing in a dance costume that is different from her daily dress code. She initiates the idea to perform a dance at her wedding rehearsal dinner as a way to thanks all guests and most important, as a lovely surprise for Pop. She selects the music and trains her friends hard, including Carly who replaces Emmi in the very last minute.

In the middle of the song, Menru takes her husband-to-be to the dance floor. Pop excitedly cooperates with Menru and he even manages to acknowledge his privilege by holding her body and leads her in the dance.

As Menruru's body moves like the flower petal, feeling her elegant gestures and the way she looks at him, Pop has an unforgettable and luckiest night that he has never had so far.

Everybody joins the dance floor and they make a line lead by the groom and the bride. They continue the night with music and favorite alcohol drinks. Leona's courtyard has become a great club and dance floor.

Larhalt is helping Leona to drink, as his observation, the young queen has a low ability to consume strong alcohol.

"You are cheating, Leona, how come Larhalt is drinking for you?"

"Because he is my guardian. Don't you know?" Leona stands by him and replies to Carly. Her hand is on his shoulder in a friendly way.

Carly has been very actively giving drinks to Leona and Papunika's fun-loving queen happily took all. "Not fun, you people are not fun!" Carly nags and laughs with Leona, "I'm looking for Marm to drink with me."

Carly sneaks away, but she is soon seeing Crocodie and Avan and immediately joining them, forgetting Marm.

"She has run away." Leona laughs.

"How about you? Time to sleep?" He asks.

"Come on, you are supposed to be more awesome than this." She turns into him and grabs his hand, "Let's dance."

He enjoys dancing with her. Leona can really inspire happiness to others. He knows she is slightly drunk, but she is drunk in a lovely way. She is still devoting all her energy to the happiness of the occasions and making everybody involved in the fun. Tonight, she is gorgeous. According to him, most of her attractiveness comes from the inspiration she gives to others.

Avan is delicating a romantic love song for Pop and Menru. The sensei is making an announcement. The crowd supports him cheerfully but nobody really expects a very good vocal, until Avan starts the song.

Just like everybody, Leona and Larhalt are delighted by the great vocal of Avan. The sensei is indeed very good at singing and the song is delivered so well, bringing the main couple Pop and Menru into the mood of dancing and enjoying their love.

Standing next to each other, Larhalt places Leona's hands on his shoulder and leads his Queen to the dance floor.

"What...?" She asks.

"Let's dance." He smiles. "You drags me to the dance song and now I drag you to this good one, it's fair enough, right?"

She looks at him and moves her hands around his neck.

"Ok."

She lets him circle her waist, remains a close distance to her and they move with Avan's songs together.

"You always inspire the beauty inside you to others, I see happiness in people around you."" He tells her.

"Is that why you like me and care for me?"

He nods. _That's probably why._

"Do you know why Hyunkel loves Marm?" She asks.

"I don't know. But I guess it's difficult to explain why you love somebody."

"So since you are very sure you like me and care for me with a reason, it's not that kind of feeling, is it?"

"I..."

"I'm just saying. Don't ever dream of loving me."

"I know, my Queen." _It hurts abit._

"My happiness is stuck in a traffic jam. Whoever loves me now is not going to feel it."

"The happiness of your life must be very big so it's stuck everywhere." He says. "You are a bit different now. Are you drunk or is there something bothering you?"

"I'm not drunk...You make me imagine that my happiness looks very cute." She bursts into a smile. "Oh Larhalt, why aren't you my friend." She still laughs and rests her face into his chest.

"Why can't I be?" He wonders.

"No, you can't be." She whispers to him."I don't know why. I can make friend with Hyunkel, but not with you."

He doesn't understand a thing. He assumes this is the language of Leona when she is not conscious.

"Ok, I don't care, as long as I can protect you."

"Ok... I don't care, too." Still wrapping her arms around his neck, and her face in his chest, she leans closer to him to make herself more comfortable. She is a bit tired, she never knows she has been this tired until she leans on him and it seems to comfort her really well.

He is confused. Initially he would like to enjoy the song with her, but now he ends up having some affections toward her, which he always try to avoid. He looks at Leona and she accidentally looks at him, he cannot say any other things.

They just keep quite and follows the melody, throughouly.

"Why is Marm smiling?" Hyunkel asks. Sitting with Marm on the sofa in one corner, he is helping Marm to remove the high heels shoes that are causing a lot of pains to her.

"Today there are many things you have said and done for the first time. You have to remember today." Her cheeks are blushed and her mind slightly gets shattered due to wine and the atmosphere of the night.

"Yes, today is the best." He agrees and lets her lay on his chest.

It is almost three o'clock in the morning. Near to them, on the dance floor, friends are still dancing and drinking, loud music is still filling up the place. Strangely, everything Marm can hear and feel is only his heart beats, his warm breath and the pleasant smell from his body. Hyunkel is holding her tightly, all that surround her are his closeness. Feeling good in his embrace, she starts finding the warmth of him under his shirt. Hyunkel lets his angel do all the things she likes, he has already known that she likes kissing him alot.

"Why am I only _cute_?" To her surprise, this bothers her more than she thought. She is not happy to be _cute_ for him. She likes to be like a woman for him.

"What?" He doesn't understand.

"In the pub, you said I'm cute. Why am I only cute?"

"Because of the head band you wore." He explains.

"How about without it, do you find me _beautiful or_ _less cute_?"

He knows he'd better be careful with the answer. But in anyway, he only has one.

"Beautiful, very beautiful."

"The answer is too quick to sound truer."

"Then this can be." Caressing her beautiful face, he decides.

"What is it?"

"Close your eyes."

She shakes her head, "I want to look at it."

He covers her eyes himself. Marm then tends to remove his hand but after one moment all she can feel is familiar friction of him in her mouth. She can feel the excitement courses through them. Her hands move around his neck and she responses to his kisses hungrily. He gives her the passion that make them barely catch the breath, but the way she copes with it surprises him more.

"Marm kisses so well now..." He slowly uncovers her eyes.

"I've copied from you." Marm lets out the soft sound as she speaks. "You taught me all the bad things." Her voice and the way she looks at him can make him lose control again.

"You are a bad angel, you are quick to learn bad things." He tells her as his fingers playing on her lips. He kisses her again. To his very awaken sense he knows he is kissing Marm and destroying her innocence, but...

"How old are you?" He asks in a sudden.

"Twenty... Why?" _Don't tell me I'm too young for you._

"In one second I thought you are sixteen."

"That was four years ago." She cups his face in her hands, "that was when I first met you. If...it was Emmi who met you first, would you love her instead of me?"

He doesn't answer and only embraces her, "I didn't meet anybody the way I met you. There was only the talkative Marm."

She looks at him while he is getting another glass of wine. "Give me a sip." She smiles, thinking of showing him something new.

He can't resist the temptation for Marm's lips when looking at her drinking. Meanwhile, she is excited to teach him, "You continue from here and we've had the indirect kiss."

He looks at the lipmark and finishes remaining drink at one. "That tastes very good...but now I need a real one. Is it ok?"

"Ok..." She moves her hands around his large shoulder and closes her eyes. He doesn't make her wait.

Marm loves to be loved by him, very much.

Across them, Avan, Furora and Matoriv are drinking.

"Let it be this way, Matoriv, it's not necessary to let Hyunkel and Marm know. We never know whether your discovery is true or false. Meanwhile, it would spoil their happiness." Avan says.

"It's about Hyunkel's dark magic. Marm goes against it the most and Hyunkel won't be able to face Marm if he knows he conducted this to her in the past." Fufu sighs. She turns to Matoriv, "Are you sure you are correct? Why even don't Avan and Pop notice this?"

"In terms of magic no one here is more experienced than me."

"Then how come Hyunkel deny it? I don't believe he would lie to Marm."

"Maybe he made himself forget it, too."

"No, it can't be." Furora rather doesn't believe the "experience" of Matoriv.

Avan looks at his students across the table. Hyunkel and Marm now dragged by Pop and Leona to the drinking table with Larhalt, Menru, Crocodie, Hym, Marlin and Apollo. Almost everybody is still awake and full of energy. It interests Avan that they are playing the drinking game. _The kids are really having fun._ He believes Hyunkel is not telling a lie. Even at the time when Hyunkel was against them, he didn't hurt any women, especially Marm.

"Matoriv, can you do me a favor?" Avan asks.

"Hmm?"

"Until we really understand what happens, don't let anybody knows, ok? Now let's join the kids!"

Their party goes on until almost morning. Fufu and Avan are those who participate the most while other seniors have slept earlier. The guys lift up Pop and Menruru and everybody enjoys their night at its fullness. When they awake the next morning, almost none of them can remember how did they went to sleep.

 **End Chapter 11**


	12. Chapter 12 - Old, New, Borrow & Blue (I)

**Chapter 12 -** **Old, New, Borrow, and Blue (I)**

Getting up, Menru finds herself on a comfortable large bed.

Soon, the bride of today realizes she is in Leona's room and is the only person awake here. The queen of Papunika is lying next to her, covering her full body in the quilt. Marm is toward the end of the bed, breathing softly and her pink hair is let open. Furora is sleeping in quite a proper position with her lipstick on. Marlin is on the chair-lounge and Carly is at another side of the bed.

Menru doesn't remember when did the party end last night and who carried them to the bed. She just can't forget the fun they had and the special moments with Pop. She knows everything is real now.

 _What time is it?_ Menru leans forward to grab her phone. It's good that she is not having the hangover.

"Oh my god! It's eleven o'clock!" Menru is almost screaming, successfully waking up some of her friends.

...

In the large living room of Leona, there are only Menru's granny and Rella. The granny is quite angry as Menru has not got up. However, she dare not going into the bedroom where both queens are sleeping.

"The wedding ceremony is at four. They still have almost five hours." Rella rests assures her.

"Hmmm these girls... They'd better get up now. "

"How about Pop? Where is he?"

"He and his friends have gone back to Avan's house this morning,"

"I see." Rella looks at the granny and suggests "Maybe we see what we can help them to prepare?"

"Yes, good idea." The granny smiles.

Both ladies walk into Menru's bride room to get as many things ready as they can for the makeup and hairstylist teams.

To their surprise, the bride and her friends are there, they look fresh and beautiful. Marm and Leona are doing the skin care for Menru, Furora is having a coffee by the window, Carly is still sleeping.

"When did you get up? Granny was so worried." The granny floats in front of Menru.

"I'm sorry to make you worry, granny."

The granny is happy with Menru's skin care. She looks at Marm who is really into helping her grandchild, and can't deny the beauty of the young girl. _She seems different from the last time I met her._

"Menru, the make up team and hair stylists are coming soon, and photographers are here in one hour. Still don't you want to eat anything?" Leona asks.

"No...I don't feel like eating."

"How about some fruits? Let take one or two pieces at least," Marm says.

Menru shakes her head.

Furora holds Menruru's hand and tells her, "You'd be great, darling. Remember to eat something. I'm going back now. See you later."

"Thanks Fufu."

"Fufu!" Leona calls.

"What?"

"Why are you going home? You're supposed to be here." Leona asks.

"What are you talking dear? I'm from the groom's side." Fufu answers while running to the awaiting car. She is not sure what is happening there.

"Really? Fufu is from Pop's side?" Leona and Marm look at each other.

"Yes, because Avan is Pop's sensei." Menru explains to them.

"I see. I feel that my confidence to handle the situation is decreasing when Fufu is not here." Leona tells Marm.

"Marm, if you and Hyunkel get married, which side do you think Avan sensei and Fufu would stay?" Menru asks while forcing herself to take some light breads. Herself and Leona seem very excited at Marm's reaction.

"You two should look at how cunning you are now. I don't answer this question." Marm turns away.

...

At Avan's mansion, the atmosphere is way more official because it's also the wedding venue. The garden has been set up perfectly and the weather is favoring the couple today. The service crews are formally dressed, kitchen has started working, the florist team is here touching up final arrangements. Everything is beautiful and perfect, Furora smiles when she arrives.

Pop and the guys are having lunch. Fufu knows Avan is obviously the cook, he looks so involving.

"You guys... such a mature team! I was wondering how much time I would need to wake you up."

"Of course dear. Want some lunch?" Avan smiles at her.

"I have promised to Menru to get up on time, so I do it, sensei." Pop says while having the traditional mixed rice. "How is Menru?"

"She is looking great. You know, it's Menru."

"Guys, I have hair stylists come here for us." Avan takes a group in.

"Really? So you were serious..." Pop is surprised.

...

At the bride side, while Menru is having a spa to refresh her mind and her body, Leona and Marm are arranging the wedding dresses, jewelries and accessories to be placed in the room. They also arrange some snacks to force Menru to eat later. Meanwhile, they have received the royal pink peony bridal and bridesmaids' flowers bouquets from the chef florist.

The makeup artists and hair stylists start their jobs, Menru is stubborn to refuse applying any lipstick, which makes her look a little plain. The makeup artist was aimed for a red lipstick color because it would match Menru's classic style perfectly, she ends up getting a pink color approved.

Almost an hour has passed in the room. Menru, Marm and Leona are in the makeup and hairdo processes. Melodies of relaxing music and lovely sunshine are filling the whole atmosphere, making it a perfect screen for the wedding photographers to capture.

When the make up and hairdo are completed, the beauty professionals are delighted at their work. Menru sees a beautiful bride with a classic style in the mirro and she doesn't believe this is her.

"Now is the big moment dear..." Leona and Marm are already in the bridesmaid long gowns of sea-glass color. Menruru is helped to put on the wedding gown, "Tighten it more." She says

"Are you kidding? Your waist has already looked so small. Can you breathe?" Marm questions.

Menruru smiles embarrassingly.

She knows she is a very beautiful bride today, the wedding gown and all accessories are the most wonderful things. She is having the golden bracelet as her something old. It's a precious gift from her mom that never leaves her. Something new is her wedding dress that she spent weeks to complete. She is wearing the something borrowed from Furora, a diamond necklace. And the garter in her leg is her something blue. Menru secretly wants to wear them forever, except the diamond necklace which is too valuable to borrow for a life time.

"Good. All are checked." Leona hugs Menru. "You are getting married in a couple of hours, what do you feel now?"

"I'm feeling hungry." Menruru smiles.

"Here you go, I'd get the make up person fix your lipstick." Marm brings a plate of veggie that Menru insists to eat.

"Menruru sama, Your Majesty, Marm sama, we would shoot the photos of you in the gowns. Could you please go to the garden now? We've done the set up." The chef photographer informs them.

Leona and Marm help Menru to lift up the wedding dress and fix the veil for her.

"I feel like a princess." Menru looks at her friends, smiles innocently.

"Today is your day. We'd do anything. Enjoy being pampered." Marm tells her friend.

 _Even we are indeed inexperienced, we have the to do list._ Leona and Marm rest assure with each other.

...

In the master room Avan is happy with the perfect curls of his hair, putting on his royal outfit while looking at Furora having her makeup done, he can't resist to capture her elegant moments.

The queen of Karl notices it, and she smiles at her husband sweetly.

In Pop's room, a group of hair stylists are helping him and the rest. The hair stylists seem enjoying the working environment here.

"Love is, you would never give up in protecting her, making her happy, making her safe, even if you have no energy, you never say you can't." Pop reads out loud. Having his hair styled, topless, he has not even put on the groom suit.

"What is it?" Chu looks at Pop.

"My vow."

"Such a weird one." Pop's father says, looking at the note. "Haven't you put on the suit? What time is it now?"

"Still early dad, wait until my hair is done." He looks at his dad who is passing by him. The boss of the weapon shop is fully dressed in the well-tailored suit. He is actually quite nervous, too. Today is a big day of his son.

"Sir, you look better without the up standing hair bang." The hair stylist is trying to convince Larhalt.

"Ok... whatever you suggest." He doesn't want to discuss about his hair style with anybody. "Just don't make it too girly."

It's his only concern.

Hyunkel only has a simple touch up for his hair, the hairstylist does a bit of trimming and that's it. _He is definitely the most handsome customer I've ever seen._ She smiles and holds the mirror to Hyunkel.

To him, he looks the same, but it's fine. He walks to the window bay which reflects a wide angle of the garden view. He is quite astonished by it, he seldom stays at Avan's place in the morning and doesn't notice this corner of the house earlier.

"Sir, would you like some red wine?"

"Thanks." He takes one and has a sip, thinking of something.

Pop's mom helps him to put the well-tailorred suit on and finally, the wedding flower pin.

"The groom is so good looking and friendly, so bad he is taken." A hair dresser assistant says when she sees Pop in the groom suit.

"Groomsmen are even more handsome. One of them names Hyunkel, when I washed his hair and he closed his eyes, I felt so...and I couldn't even look at him straightforwardly. Boss, who are our customers? They don't seem to be from Papunika."

"The booking was made with a request of privacy, so even I don't know who they are." The team leader says.

"Are we allowed to stay until the bride arrives?"

"I think it's ok. Our customers are pretty easy going..."

Just like the bride side, the guys also have a photographing session before the wedding event. They are asked to pose in individual and group. Pop is excited, Larhalt is earger and Hyunkel is photogenic. The photographing session goes so well. There are also captured of moments and candid photos of Pop's family, sensei and friends.

By three pm, guests starts arriving the wedding venue. In addition to close friends and family, Pop and Menru invite about one hundred guests, including their relatives and other friends. There are also noble guests from royal families and army forces that have good relationship with the couple like King Teran's, King Romos's, General from Ringaia and Benga. Contrary to those rather relaxing moments at the beginning, now Pop needs to stay focused to take care of all guests. It's not an easy task for him to make every guests feel welcomed at his wedding, especially when most of them have traveled from far. Luckily, the wedding venue is large enough and the service crew is big in quantity, in addition, his friends are helping him to attend to different groups of guests. So far, none guests is overlooked, nor do they feel crowded.

Carly has showed up. She is gorgeous in the red long gown, matching well with pearl necklace. She is the piano artist of the event.

"Menru is coming in half an hour, we should have all guests seated by now." Larhalt informs Pop what Furora conveys.

Pop's heart starts trembling in a sudden.

"Stay cool, man." Larhalt says, pats on Pop's shoulder. He can notice that Pop looks slightly stressful.

"I need to breathe. Can you guys take me to somewhere less crowded." Pop asks Hyunkel and Larhalt.

...

"Can I have more veggie, Marm?" Menruru asks.

"You have eaten enough veggie dear. Let drink a little warm water." Marm brings in a glass of water with straw.

"Please help me to turn on the music."

"Here you go." Leona gets it on for Menru.

"Stay calm, dear. Just take a few deep breaths, feel the inner peace, just like when you do yoga." Leona sits next to Menru, trying to help her overcome the last minute pre-marriage phobia Menru suddenly has.

Menru listens to the advice. She tries to organize her thinking, suddenly everything becomes so messy in her mind.

"Why is she suddenly like this." Marm looks at Leona.

...

At the same time, two wedding cars, driven by Crododie and Nova taking Matoriv, are on the way to the bride's place. As advised by the family of both sides, Matoriv would walk Menru along the aisle instead of Pop. The parents and granny of the couple would like everything to be in accord with the tradition.

 **End Chapter 12 Part 1**


	13. Chapter 13 -Old, New, Borrow & Blue (II)

**Chapter 13 - Old, New, Borrow & Blue (II)**

Leona is recalling all psychology books she read. They don't want to worry Furora who is busy taking care of guests at the wedding site, not until the situation becomes worse. Menru still seems fine, she just keeps wanting different things.

" I do think about it very much." Menruru suddeny says, "I think today would be the happiest day of my life. I have everything, Pop, his love, family, friends, blessing. But I've just realized today would make everything so different, too. Pop would be different and I would be different. I'm not ready to accept this. What to do, Leona and Marm?"

"Then would you not marry him because of that ?" Marm asks.

Menruru is stunned for a while, but the answer is very obvious.

"No, I wouldn't. I'd like to be with him..."

"So...what's the problem?"

"I'm scared, all different thinkings are in my mind now. Can we... turn off the music?" Menruru tends to take off the veil, it seems so heavy for her. Leona and Marm quickly stops her while the granny turns off the music.

"Shall we call Pop?" The granny asks.

"No, don't call Pop!" Menruru tends to cry.

"Ok, ok, we don't call Pop. Don't cry..."

Leona and Marm are not able to handle the situation. They have tried every possible way but Menru is still very confused.

"You may be right, Pop may change after the wedding, so may you. But it's not a bad thing as you are afraid." Rella looks at Menru and can't resist helping her to overcome the fear.

She gently holds Menru's hands in hers and looks at the young girl dearly, "After the marriage, my husband changed and so did I. It was very difficult for me to deal when the difference arrived. Hence, it's good that you are freaking out now, you'd have some preparations. Ok?"

"What happened to you and your husband then?" Menru asks.

"Marm's father and I, we changed alot during our marriage. But after a while I realized we changed so we could be more responsible, we changed so we became more practical as well, because we had to take care of our little family, of our Marm." Rella tells Menru, "You and Pop would be the same, too. I trust you would do a better job than us. You both will change, but no worry, you have love as your foundation, you have selected a good man like Pop, he would accompany your change together. You won't let him alone, too, will you?" She feels full of confidence for the couple.

"No, I won't." Menru looks at Rella's gentle eyes.

"We leave some space for you to think about it. I believe you'd be fine."

"Thanks Mrs Rella, you help me alot."

"But the car is on the way to pick her up." Leona whispers to Rella.

"Let's believe in the best." Rella says.

The door is closed and Menru is alone in the room. She knows for very sure even when she is freaking out, she still wants to marry Pop. Mrs Rella has let her know that most couple will change after getting wedded. Now, she just wants a confirmation from Pop that he would overcome it with her. If Pop confirms, the change would not freak her out anymore.

Menru lifts up her wedding dress to see the blue garter, an item Pop and her selected together. When she was trying it, he kissed her at the part she is wearing the garter, would he love her forever like that moment? Menru decides to bet on that, with her life time. Because she may be afraid, but she loves him indeed.

And hence, she steps out of the room to people who care for her so much.

"Granny, Mrs Rella, Marm, Leona, sorry to make you worried."

"Have you made up your mind?" Leona asks, holding her hand of Menru.

"Yes, it's very clear now." She smiles. "But I have to let you two know, you must discuss a lot of things with your partner before the wedding day."

"Yup..." Both of her friends nod, this seems very important.

"The wedding car has arrived." Menru's granny informs.

...

Pop is breathing hardly. He is doing a lot of push up and sit up. If possible, he wants to do any helpful things to release the sudden unreadiness in his mind.

"What happneded?" Hyunkel asks while looking at Pop doing all kinds of exercises. He is holding Pop's suit as the groom is afraid of dirtying it.

"I just want to get ready before Menruru arrives."

"Stop doing that, man." Larhalt pulls Pop up. "You will not get ready by sweating yourself like this."

"Phew... Ok..." Pop sits on the grass, breathing hardly. "I believe this is not a mistake, I just didn't feel the power of marriage until now."

"I don't get it." Larhalt says.

"It seems like, the required efforts for responsibility, commitment and love in marriage is so strong that I'm not sure if I can handle. In addition, I've never questioned why is she Menru that I marry. You know, without any question she is the one. But when I heard Menru is coming, I feel like it's another Menru." Pop tells Hyunkel and Larhalt.

"She is still Menruru. You are just having some unexpected freaks out because you might never think of your marriage before, but it doesn't mean there is something wrong." Hyunkel says.

"Ok... I think so, too. But I also feel unfair for Menruru who is unaware of my unreadiness, it may take time for me to completely be a good husband."

"There'd be some ways. As long as you are not walking out." Hyunkel gives Pop the suit.

"You have twenty minutes left." Larhalt looks at his watch. "Is there anything else you want to do?"

"No...We'd better go in. I'm not walking out, guys. Although I am nervous now, but I'd never forgive myself if I leave Menru here alone."

"You will be fine." That's all Hyunkel can say.

"I bet you'd regret if you leave her here today, Menruru is pretty cool." Larhalt tells Pop.

"What pretty cool? She is perfect." Pop corrects him.

...

The two wedding cars are on the way to the wedding venue. The first car is driven by Nova, taking Leona, Marm, Rella and Menru's granny. The second car is driven by Crocodile, taking Menru and Matoriv.

"Menruru, are you ready? I can drive back if you want." Crocodile is joking to Menru, he is laughing in joy, it's great to have a duty at Pop's wedding.

"Better not, I can't find back such a wonderful bride to my beloved discipline." Matoriv looks at Menru with pride and says.

Menruru smiles. A few minutes ago this might have happened.

...

When Marm and Leona arrive, all guests have been well-seated. Avan is inside the wedding area with the guys, Furora is stunning in her ivory gown waiting for them at the entrance with Marlin and several assistants. All photographers of the wedding have arrived here.

The atmosphere is really formal. Leona and Marm can't believe this is Avan's old mansion, it is now a perfect wedding venue.

"It looks wonderful here!" Leona exclaims.

"So do you two." Furora smiles at both. It's true. Leona and Marm looks absolutely gorgeous in the long gowns that fit their bodies so well. There is a slight difference between both of them, Marm lets her hair open and Leona has it tied up, Leona's gown has fully revealed her shoulder while Marm's one is a high-neck gown with a half-open back. The peony bouquets are elegant in their hands.

Through the ivy wall they can partly see Pop, Hyunkel and Larhalt who are standing at the vow area. The guys are more handsome than normal. Avan sensei is there, too, in his royal outfit, ready to be the wedding minister.

"Oh god... Larhalt is having that hairstyle, and that suit, Marm, how can I stop being attracted by him?" Leona tells Marm, she can't take her eyes away from the attractive groomsmen, also her guardian.

"Move your eyes to Pop, then." Marm replies simply. Hers are on Hyunkel who is looking great in the suit. As normal his handsome face shows no emotion, his hair is slightly trimmed and reveals more of his strong neck, Marm enjoys the view so much.

"Look at Pop, he is so funny." Leona giggles.

"Yes." Marm switches her attention to Pop and slightly laughs, agrees with Leona.

 _Pop, do you know that Menruru was almost running away while you were enjoying the atmospher here? Luckily things are fine now._ Marm smiles looking at her friend.

Pop, standing in front of rows of guests and waiting for his bride to arrive, can't control the mixed and nervous feeling inside him at the time being. He keeps talking to Hyunkel and Larhalt.

"I'm so afarid that my hands would sweat."

and,

"I'm sweating, why did I do that much push up just now..."

and,

"Where is the ring? Who is keeping it?"

and, on top of all, he is kind of enjoying the feeling of waiting for his most important person.

Somebody is entering the wedding area, he knows it is not yet Menruru's entrance but still his heart has skipped a beat. However, seeing Menruru's granny, Mrs Rella, Furora and Nova quickly get into their seats, he knows the moment is reaching.

In front of the garden, the wedding car carrying Menru has arrived.

Menru alights with helps of Crocodile. Crocodile feels so good at the task, taking Pop's bride to him. _Menruru is so beautiful today, Pop would be so proud._

Menruru is astonished by how beautiful her wedding venue is. It's like a fairy tale for her, seeing her favorite flowers and colors around the place in harmony, looking high-class and romantic.

Menruru gratefully thanks Crocodile and gives him a peony flower. She asks him to help her give it to Ms Crocodile. Crocodile is abit shy but he is indeed happy.

Marm and Leona help Menru to fix the veil, make sure the lovely friend is at her most beautiful appearance.

"Is he there?" Menruru asks humorously.

"Yes, he looks great." Leona smiles and tells the bride.

"Ready, dear?" Marm looks at Menru.

"Yup." The bride takes a deep breach and nods. "Love you both. Thanks for everything." They hug each other tightly. Matoriv is next to them, ready to walk Menru to Pop.

Marlin enters the wedding venue to get Carly start the bridesmaids entrance melody. Crocodile carefully keeps the flower in his pocket and enters the site, too.

The atmosphere of the whole wedding venue seems pause completely. Filled in the air of this beautiful afternoon is only the rhythm of "Here, there, and everywhere" from Carly's piano.

Marm is the first one to walk down on the aisle. Immediately nobody can take their eyes away from her beautiful appearance, especially the groomsman who makes her cheeks slightly blushed when she catches his gentle eyes.

Personally Marm believes everything is wonderful here today because of the love Menru and Pop have for each other. Her mind at the moment is full of best wishes she makes for them. Marm can't hide her shining smiles to congrat Pop and her affection when she looks at Hyunkel. Toward the end of the ailse, she sees Pop offers a hand gesture of friendship to her and she does the same thing to him, as a way to congrats him and unifying the achievement of them for the beautiful wedding.

Standing stunningly at her position, Marm is proud looking at Leona who is making the next entrance along the aisle.

Leona walks elegantly with the float of her gown and the move of her body. Smiles are beautiful on her gorgeous face. Her eyes contacts are with the groom and friends who are proudly looking at her. She truly feels happy for both friends and exchanges the same hand gesture with Pop just like Marm did earlier. Without her intention, her eyes are seeking for Larhalt before she gets to her position at the vow area.

And the piano rhythm is now changing to the classical "Here Comes The Bride". All guests stand up and remain a quietness to greet Menru.

Menruru, the beauty angel at her pure white wedding gown appears at the entrance.

Pop feels to be in heaven since then.

She is walking among the crowd, she is accompanied by Matoriv sensei, and yet all he sees is only her.

Her eyes, her lips, every of her moves, all seem to be for him.

Menruru is only eyeing on Pop, too. Through the eyes contact the wedding couple know that every steps she is making now is one by one her trust on him, and that they have gone through so many things to make this precious moment. Pop's heart is trembling because this is the first time in his life, he can feel the truest love life has given to him. He can also feel Menru's courage and how lovable she is, and he is really blessed to marry her. He doesn't realize he was crying until Hyunkel gives him a handkerchief. It makes the bride going to cry, too. She is controlling herself very hard.

"Hi" He whispered to her as she is reaching the end of the aisle.

"Hi" Menruru softly replies, smiling at him.

"Are you ok?" He whispers to his wife-to-be.

Menruru nods, wiping his tears gently.

Keeps looking at Menru, he himself holds her hand before Matoriv leaves hers. This makes all guests laugh, they find the couple are so sweet to each other.

Pop and Menru walk to vowing position. Avan stands in the middle, the sensei can't hide his happiness.

"Family, friends, children, thank you for being here and witness this blessing wedding. The day has been beautiful but we all agree, that it can't compare to our bride." Avan looks at Pop and Menru proudly.

"Menru and Pop are perfect for each other and I believe I'm saying this on behalf of everyone who knows this couple so well. Just like all of us who are here today, I wish them the happiness of a life time. Now, may the couple exchange the ring."

Menru receives the ring from Leona and Pop gets it from Hyunkel. The atmosphere is still remained formal and warm. The guests are expecting the moment the couple exchange the vow.

Menruru holds Pop's wedding ring and she smiles to him naturally when she recalls everything until she reaches this stage, "When I was growing up I have my granny who loves me very much, but I knew my life was always missing of something and I failed to seek for them."

"You bring in the brightness to my life and now standing in front of you here, I know I'm not missing anything anylonger. I know you are my family. I love you." She looks at him with love.

Pop listens to Menru in happiness and he can't take his eyes away from her, even when Menruru is gently wearing the wedding ring into his finger.

It is now Pop's turn and he realizes he has forgot the script. There is a moment of pause and everybody is waiting for him. Larhalt and Hyunkel look slightly tense.

But with Menruru standing here in front of him, Pop finds the script is not important anymore. What he feels now is more real and more likely of his readiness.

Holding both of Menru's hands, he confesses, "A short while ago I didn't know when did I start loving you. Even at this moment I don't know why I love you. I also don't know why it's you, why things are right when you are around. I don't know why happiness falls from the sky whenever you appear. All these things that I don't know, turn out to be of no importance. All now I know, is that from this moment, all your happiness would be attached to me, I would not let happiness slip through you, never would I."

And he gently wears the wedding in her finger. Menruru smiles at him happily.

"And I love you." He says. "You are beautiful today, you are beautiful everyday but today, you are...taking my breath away." They hold each other hand tightly, never want to let them go. Their eyes can't leave each other.

Everybody observes the couple with absolute admiration and are totally touched. Even Avan, he is only aware of his next role when Leona reminds him.

"Menru, do you take this man as your husband?" Avan asks.

"I do." Menru nods. _Certainly._ And it delights all her friends and family.

"Pop, do you take this woman as your wife?"

"I do." Pop says, looking at his wife with love.

The couple and all friends are now only waiting for Avan's announcement.

"And now I pronounce you husband and wife." The sensei says out loud.

Pop steps forward immediately to kiss his bride lovingly and she wraps her hand over him to kiss him, too. Everyone cheers for them in excitement and blessing.

The happy Pop and Menru walk each other out, followed by bridesmaids and groomsmen walking in couple, then Avan and Furora, Pop's parents, Matoriv and Menru's granny within the cheers of all guests and the exciting melody of Happy Couple.

The wedding is broken into joys of everybody.

After the group photos have been taken, all guests are invited to the banquet and party at the garden. The couple is still hold by photographers to take photos with different groups of family, friends and other guests.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen have to stay close to the wedding couple for any assistant the couple may need during the photo session. However, they are having fun, too, being temporarily seperated from the crowd.

"I like it here." Marm tells Hyunkel. They are leaning on the balcony of the veranda. The sunshine of early evening is on her face, making her more beautiful in his eyes.

"Now you say you like it here? I've already sought for a place to leave in Romos." He lifts her chin up.

"I like the wedding here only."

"You two really looks like a wedding couple, too." Some guests passing by and tell them.

He smiles in reply, seems very pleased hearing that and holds her closer to him.

"It may be cold in the evening. Do you have something to wrap around your back?" He asks and places a kiss on her forehead.

"I don't have, but I will not feel cold. Do you think the dress is beautiful this way?"

 _Beautiful but too eye-catching for other men._ "It's ok, as long as you like." He decides.

"How did we go to bed last night?" Leona asks Larhalt. Don't want to disturb Hyunkel and Marm, they are standing at the other side of the veranda.

"Hm? _We_... didn't go to bed last night."

"Really? Then you guys stayed up the whole night? Who took _us_ to bed then?" Leona is surprised and wonders.

"Oh...I get what you mean now." He realizes.

"I also get what you thought just now." She looks at him, "Why do you have that thinking?"

He is wondering it himself, too. "I don't know why... Sorry."

"Did I say something stupid last night?" She hesitatingly asks him.

"What stupid things could you probably say to me?" He walks closer to her and it makes her feel difficult to breathe.

He looks into Leona's beautiful sky-blue eyes and says, "No, you didn't say anything stupid. It's just me who have made a mistake."

End Chapter 12 (II)


	14. Chapter 14 - Within the warmth

**Chapter 14 - Within the warmth.**

The wedding banquet has ended before midnight. When all guests have departed, the group of friends finally can rest fully. They have never felt this exhausted until everything is over. The wedding venue is still beautiful with lights enchanted the garden, love melody is still surrounded the environment. They are resting in the garden, enjoying some last moments of the night with wine and small chats. The starry sky is high above.

Pop walks Menru to everybody. He is tired but the joy is still endured until this last moment. "Once more time, thanks sensei and guys." The couple looks sp grateful.

"I feel abit sad that the event is over. I really enjoy every part of it." Leona says. She sits next to Marm and leans on her friend. The night is getting a little colder. "Atishhh..." The young queen sneezes.

"Put on my vest." Her guardian says and wraps his vest on her shoulder.

There is absolutely a feeling of warmth. Especially when she looks at him and he is not aware of it.

"I'm feeling cold, too." Carly walks in front of Larhalt, "Why do you give it to Leona, not me?"

He gives out his waistcoat to her. Seeing it, Leona bursts into a soft laugh. "Let's share." She tells Carly.

"Do you ladies need to move inside?" Avan asks.

"No, I like it here..." Marm says. It seems like her girl friends feel the same way, too. For Marm, she loves it here when he keeps his arm around her waist, making her warm.

Pop is holding Menru's hands tightly and telling his friends. "After the wedding we will prepare everything to go to Teran, and then, probably would move to Benga. But we will roam in Papunika for a week." The couple look at each other in agreement.

"That'd be fast." The queen of Papunika says.

"Are you gonna missing us?" Pop teases her.

"There is some technique called teleportation. You are going to teach me that." Leona simply answers.

"Sensei, please advise why her Majesty is not suitable for this technique." Pop asks.

"Eh hmm... Leona, you need more ki."

Leona turns to Larhalt, "Will you be able to help me?"

He nods. _I'm a professional._ He is quietly proud.

"Anyway, guys, very soon teleportation is not allowed to travel across countries." Furora says.

"What?"

It definitely disappoints everyone who knows the technique.

"Forget it, this song is nice, let's have one more dance tonight." Pop initiates.

And the wedding night has come to an end and left unforgettable memories, as well as making starts of something new.

End Chapter 14 - Within the warmth.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Wind of Change

**Chapter 15 - The Wind of Change**

"We are going now, see you, everybody." Pop and Menru runs through the staircases in a rush and saying goodbye to everyone.

Having breakfast at the dining hall, they look at the newly married couple with quite a surprise. Both dress casually, Pop is carrying a small luggage with him and Menruru is wearing a holiday hat.

"We will be back in a week." Menruru stops her husband and informs all friends. Her smile is shinning as the morning angel's.

Pop and Menru are roaming around Papunika in a week as their plan. Looking at the couple rushing to their honeymoon hand in hand, Marm and Leona finally believe in the settlement of Menru.

"Thinking about it, I have not gone to other parts of Papunika except the capital city." Avan tells everybody on the breakfast table, "Shall we make a trip too before saying goodbye to Papunika?"

Furora nods in agreement.

"Hurray! I'd like to go." Chu is excited. It definitely makes Crocodile, Hym, Brass and Marm join.

"But..." Crocodile hesitates.

"I know, you are thinking about Ms Crocodile, right?" The friends laugh.

"No worry, I'd take the lady here. Is she in the Monster Island?" Avans asks, and disappears at once.

"Furora, how could you and Avan sensei leave Carl for this long?" Leona has a sip of milk. She really can't leave the work.

"Darling, I've been working for almost twenty years since I was sixteen." Furora recalls, "Many matters can be managed from a distance. In addition, your sensei helps me a lot."

"So, are you not joining, Leona?" Marm asks.

"No, I can't. Sorry guys."

"Why, Your Highness?"

"Her Highness is very busy, don't you know?" Chu tells Hym.

"But make sure you come back early, I will take you to some places in this city, for examples, the Titika, the beach nearby." The queen smiles.

"Mom, would you like to go with Fufu and Avan sensei and Matoriv?" Marm can't leave her work at the moment, too. She only gets busier after the signing of a new free trade agreement that happened last week.

"Yes. This would be my first time travel in Papunika," Rella is happy.

At that time, Avan brings Ms Crocodile with the delight of everybody. Undoubtedly she is a perfect match for Crocodile. She is huge, and cute, in a very nice outfit.

"Let's take the attendance." Furora is counting, Avan, Crocodile, Hym, Chu, Brass, Ms Crocodile, Matoriv, Rella, Pop parents, Lonberk, Nova and Carly. "How about Hyunkel and Larhalt?"

"They are not going, these people of Papunika are very workaholic." Avan says.

...

When Avan is helping her to pack the luggage, Furora asks to talk to Marm privately.

"Have you heard from Hyunkel about the... thing Matoriv said?"

Marm looks at Furora, "Yes. Fufu, but it's not true."

"What would you do if this is true. Like what Matoriv guesses, probably he made himself forget this."

"It can't be true, But even if it is, I... I will let it go. He is doing his best to compensate everything he did in the past."

"To be honest, although I'm afraid Matoriv being too confident, but it's good that you are aware of this. I'm not sure what would Avan do, but he wants us to keep quite to you both until we know the truth."

"The truth? Can we put aside what Matoriv sensei said and move on. This never exists in Hyunkel and my memories. How true can it be? I don't want sensei to waster time and energy on this."

"Calm down, Marm." Furora takes a deep breath. Marm always appears very thoughtful and kind-hearted, but when it comes to her personal issue, she will become as stubborn as she can. _Just let Avan handle, he really knows his students much better than me_. Fufu realizes. "My dear, don't get me wrong. I just believe you should be aware of this and since you are, it's fine." She says.

"Sorry Fufu. I don't mean to overreact. I'm aware what Matoriv sensei said, but what he said has never happened."

They go back to the dining hall and see Hyunkel with Larhalt along the corridor. Both were supposed to join the breakfast here this morning but couldn't make it.

"I thought you are busy?"

"Can't skip the farewell with those guys. Why do they leave in a sudden?" Larhalt says, he is back to his favorite hairstyle.

"No, they are not leaving today." Furora smiles, seems like Chu has tricked them here.

"I also drop by to meet Leona and tell her my decision." Hyunkel lets Marm know as they are walking side by side.

Marm smiles. "So are you going to Romos soon?"

"Not very soon. Do you expect it to happen soon?"

"No... take your time. But I know no matter how soon or late, Leona will be quite mad."

...

"I'm shocked." Leona is grumpy after hearing the decision of Hyunkel. All other friends have started their leisure trip in Papunika, only herself, Marm, Hyunkel and Larhalt stay back in the capital due to work. Being grumpy, the Queen of Papunika insists Hyunkel to drive her to the palace instead of the driver. Larhalt and Marm also insist on joining the drive to cool down the queen.

"How could you leave me here when we have just finished the deal in Benga? There is no good people joining the army, and now there is no good people to carry on my special projects. You look at Furora, she can go for holidays whenever she wants. And you look at me." She nags in the car.

"I don't drop the project, only resign from BC Authority. Leona, the team in BC is very capable, I'm confident on them." Hyunkel tells Leona, looks at her childish expression,he knows she is half acting and half honest.

"Since you are going to ROMOS, I know it's impossible to stop you." Leona looks at Marm with half eyes.

"What? I support him."

"Of course I know." _You are the reason he leaves us._ Leona is still grumpy. "Hyunkel, you can only go with three conditions."

"What conditions?"

"Firstly, you can't forfeit your citizenship in Papunika. This means, Papunika is always your homeland. Whenever there are occasions that require your contribution, you have to stand for Papunika."

"I agree." He says.

Although Marm is from Romos, but it's true that he feels more Papunikan.

"Please try to remain a friendship with Romos, my Queen." He smiles and looks at his Romos girl.

"No problem." Leona confirms. "Secondly, the soonest you can leave Papunika is in six-month time . So you can do the best in training the team and settling the handover at BCA ."

"Yes. that's my responsibility."

Leona smiles, "And thirdly, please register your organization in Papunika."

Larhalt knows Leona would never let go of this condition. He can't stop burst into a smile when hearing it. Hyunkel is smiling, too. This is very absolute what his smart queen would do.

Three months working on the trade agreement between Romos and Papunika has made Marm understand that all organizations have to pay tax to the home country where it registers, on top of the tax it has to pay to the local government. In this case, rather than the tax revenue, Papunika would also enjoy the reputation if Hyunkel's organization becomes more successful.

"Not only Papunika would be benefited, this means people in Papunika will be supportive when the BC Authority offers projects to your organization." Leona says, looking at Hyunkel from the front mirror.

"How would you know Hyunkel is going to set up an architecture and construction firm?" Marm is surprised.

"I can't think of any other business he may be fond of."

"You don't need many good people, because you have outsmarted many royals in this world." Her guardian tells her with his deep warm voice.

Leona doesn't deny what he says, but she knows he is even better than her in term of economic strategies. Time will show.

"Do you agree with the last condition?" Leona asks Hyunkel.

"I do." He answers at one. It's not because of the economic benefit. He agrees because of Papunika, a special place which he considers as a homeland, and also, because it's a condition set by Leona, somebody he likes and has the responsibility to compensate for a life time.

Leona smiles with the agreement.

Hyunkel is a driver on that morning. He drops Leona at the palace and Marm at the Trading Building.

"I'd walk to my company, it's only opposite." Larhalt gets out of the car together with Marm.

"Is Pop coming back in a week?" Hyunkel asks.

"That's what he said."

And Hyunkel can't believe here come a day he expects to see Pop this much.

Somehow, the wind of change is coming, transfering spring into summer, and it looks like each of them is also moving forward to a new step of life.

End Chapter 15.

End Chapter 15.


	16. Chapter 16 - Goodbye, I Love You (I)

**Chapter 16 - Goodbye, I love you (I)**

When they stand in front the house, Marm knows Hyunkel likes it the most among all units they have been viewing.

It is located in the upper part of Dylan, capital city of Romos and is accessed through a driveway with maple trees lined up in both sides. The place should be even more beautiful in fall and winter.

Marm is delighted by what are offered inside: the open concept dining hall that is full of sunshine, the high-ceiling living room with hard timber floor, the court yard that is throughout all levels, the beautiful large bay window that provides a stunning view, the basement for wine storage, the multiple swimming pools: a semi-indoor pool with sauna room and an outdoor lap pool.

"You like it here the most, do you?" Hyunkel asks Marm although he is pretty sure she is sharing the same idea as him.

She looks at him and smiles, agreeing. "Are you buying this house?"

"Yes. Because we both like it." He says.

The house agent is happy with the settlement of the purchase. She has been taking the client and his girlfriend to several houses for viewing and noticed the client is more keen on a natural living environment rather than an urban one, hence, she takes him here, a neighborhood for high-class residences that takes minutes of driving to city central and still be close to the nature.

"Thanks sir. I'd work with your lawyer and the property developer. Do you have any plan tonight? May I invite you to a dinner?" She shakes his hand and smiles.

"Thank you, but we have something else on schedule." Marm tells the agent.

Driving to the next appointment, the agent still looks at Hyunkel from the mirror. He is walking along the beautiful road with Marm, holding her hand and seems enjoying the nice surrounding. _Glad that he likes the place._ She thinks. She will invite him for dinner next time.

"What is the next thing on schedule?" Hyunkel asks Marm.

"I want to take you to my village."

"Ok..." He smiles, " Are we walking there?"

"I'd take you there by teleport. But I'm not very good at this, can you hold me tight?"

...

Neiru Village is Marm's hometown. It's about twenty kilometers toward the west of Romos's capital. The village is nearby a forest where Crocodile's army used to occupy.

Marm is not able to land properly as she is carrying Hyunkel, but somehow they manage to get a balance and not fall down.

It's a pretty old village and seems to have a long history of establishment. However, the fresh air is amazing here since the whole area is surrounded by lines of trees, and the forest is just located behind

Agriculture is dominant in the village, Hyunkel can see rice fields, vegetables gardens, herbal gardens and farm houses located next to each other.

It's difficult to describe the emotion when returning to the hometown after more than four years being away. The place has slightly changed, but to Marm, its spirit is still the same. She knows, she still loves every corner of this place. Marm starts running when seeing the familiar wooden roof, "My home is here!" She happily turns to Hyunkel with a big smile that he seldom sees.

"Grandpa and Mina are not at home. They are in the town area to top up the herbal medicine, I guess." Marm says, busily opens the windows and doors for air ventilation. The grandpa and a teenage girl named Mina are not blood-related to Rella and Marm, but they have been living here since Mina was an infant.

"So, this is my hometown! What do you think?" She asks him enthusiatically.

"Looks like an interesting place that I'd visit more frequently in future." He smiles. "Don't you walk me around the village?"

"It's getting dark now, people are home for dinner. You are right, I'd take you here again. We should have had dinner with the agent." She feels a liltle sorry for the unplanned trip.

"I prefer trying the traditional foods of your hometown. Any recommendations?" He wraps his hand around her shoulder, and there arises a closer intimacy than normal.

"Frankly, I don't know any places. You know the wrong Romos person, but I can cook something for you." She looks quite confident.

"Really?" That is a small surprise. He has never seen her doing the cooking or any housechores. As a result he never expectes Marm to cook. She takes him to the kitchen so they can decide what to have for the first dinner together.

Being not very lucky, they only see a pack of rice and some eggs.

"I'm an easy eater." Hyunkel rests assure Marm. It's quite cute that she cooks. He doesn't demand anything more than that. "When you cook, I'd find something to do around your house."

"Ok, I will be fast." She smiles.

It gets to be. Only eggs and rice, how can they keep her long at the kitchen? She would just cook rice and fry the eggs. Thanks god that he is an easy eater.

Want to improve the quality of the meal, Marm runs to the next door to borrows anything she can. She ends up having veggies, onions, oranges. Getting back to her kitchen, she slightly laughs at herself, what is she doing? The dinner now would have one more veggie soup, the egg now would be fried with onion and they would have two cups of orange juices.

"Hyunkel, let's eat." She carries the food to the table and is still feeling funny. The beautiful smile has never disappeared on her face since she starts making dinner for both of them. But her beautiful smile quickly turns into a blush on both sides of cheeks when seeing him topless in the living room, fixing the window for her house.

She knows he has a very good body, but she has never been alone with him in the same room when he is this attractive. Marm can't take her eyes away from him.

"I didn't know the window was broken." She walks closer when he is climbing down.

He realizes that Marm is slightly shy, but this makes her look really cute. "I'd better put on my shirt now. Can you help me?"

Looks at Marm as she is carefully helping him to button the shirt, he feels like wanting her to unbutton it more. There is always the gentle beauty from her that touches him deep inside effortlessly.

"Thanks." He smiles. It's not a good idea to be alone with Marm like this, they'd better go back to Papunika as soon as possible.

"Dinner is ready." Marm looks very happy, she feels like she is taking care of him very well, even manages to cook for him.

Hyunkel is definitely an easy eater if the meal is made by Marm. What else does he expect when he has already seen how devoted she was to make the best meal she can. "It's delicious. Thank you." He says.

"I normally don't cook, in my family, I do some heavier work , are you sure it's delicious?" She looks at him hestiately.

"Take one." He feeds her small mouth with a spoon of rice and egg. "I like it. But if you don't get used to cooking, it's fine." He smiles.

 _Anyway, I'd learn more from mom._ She looks at him and thinks.

When they finish the dinner she asks him softly, "Can we sleep here tonight?"

All because Marm misses her home very much.

Hyunkel is surprised to hear this, but looking into Marm's eyes, he knows the answer must be No.

"We can." She persuades. "And we can use teleport to be at Papunika early morning tomorrow."

"No, we can't sleep here tonight."

"Why not?" Marm believes she can convince him. "I really miss my room here."

"You can stay back when your mom and everybody are around."

"You don't want to spend time with me..."

"Not at night, Marm."

"Why not? We can talk until we fall asleep."

"It's not gonna happen."

"I think it can happen." She says, being stubborn.

"Let's have a walk outside." He stands up. He has never argued with her on anything, and in fact, he can't argue with her any longer when her voice is attracting some drives and desires from him.

...

They are walking along the pathway of the village. The insect sounds and the smell of grass are really nice. Neighboring families are at home for the dinner and evening gathering, the pathway is rather quiet and dark, but the wind blows gently and the stars shine down, making the atmosphere somehow relaxing.

"Why are you not speaking?" He has to ask. Although they are walking hands in hands but Marm seems to be angry.

"Why don't you want to spend time with me at night?"

"How possible it is to sleep together without doing other things?"

Her cheeks turn red to hear that. "What're other things? I don't think of other things."

"I know, that's why we can't sleep together. Because I think of them."

Looking at her beautiful brown eyes that are full of questions, he stops walking and holds her closer to him, "I feel very passionate when being with you, no one has made me feel this way before." And his hand slides through her hairs, caresses her cheek, "The chemistry is too strong and it would lead to something else. Quite a wrong idea to be alone with me now."

"But I love being alone with you." Marm leans on his chest. Her movement is tender like the water current in his arms.

She knows he is gonna like this, so her lips and tongue are approaching him, softly but also passionately.

He doesn't initiate any intimacy with Marm here, but he can't refuse Marm's lips. When she drags her mouth slightly apart from his to catch the breathe, he finds it back immediately and locks a deeper kiss that shatters all her thoughts away.

"Still want to sleep with me tonight?" He asks.

"Yes." Marm whispers. Her lips slightly part, wanting to kiss him more and he doesn't make her wait for any second.

"You don't give me a chance, do you?" He looks at her. Circling her body in one arm and another hand starts moving down to her bare thigh. Their noses are cuddling and very soon their lips are touching each other again.

A great pleasure is filling in Marm when his hand slides inside her panties and starts massaging the soft sensitive part of her. Her hands wrap around his shoulder and she places nonstop kisses on his lips, dragging his tongue into her mouth. His hands move to her hip and strips off her panties. Realizing it, Marm shyly covers the naked part. In his eyes, Marm's reaction makes her so irresistible and stimulates a stronger sexual drive in him.

He can't stop sucking the small and soft tongue and locking her tender, tasty lips. He moves Marm's hands away to occupy her sexiest part and gives Marm no chance of stop being aroused, making her completely wet because of the blissfulness.

"Can we come inside my house?" the sexy voice comes out from her short breathe. And this only makes it more difficult to let her go. She can never stop being inviting, although she doesn't have any intention to do so.

That makes a decision for him. Hyunkel lifts Marm's panties up, "We should go back to Papunika." He says.

"No, it's still early here." Marm tries to delay the moment.

But he has determined, and they are in Marm's room in the embassy building of Romos in Papunika at one.

Marm is not happy. The excitement is still there inside her, he starts it and now he wants to say goodbye? She just keeps quiet, slightly angry.

"This face... what happened?" He comes forward to embrace his love, who is apparently not happy being brought back to Papunika.

"You are leaving me alone after getting satisfied."

Although the face of his girl is really serious, he smiles when hearing this. "I had to bring you back before I would do something out of control. I'm not satisfied yet."

He holds her hand and moves it around. Her face is as red as an apple when she can feel the hardness and heat of him.

"Why you..." Her hand is hold by him, placing around his manhood. She is getting shy when the feeling of hardness and size becomes more obvious.

"Because of Marm." And he embraces her for a while because he would be missing her for the night.

"Don't let anyone see you like... this." Her face is still so red.

"No worry, only Marm can see me like this." He still keeps her in a close distance and looks indeed proud.

"What should I do with it?" She asks softly and looks at him, her hand is still kept by him at the place he likes.

"Nothing, and don't say anything else." The more he hears her voice the more he wants her. "Goodbye, I love you." He hugs her tightly one more time before leaving.

...

In the next evening, Marm and Leona go to Larhalt house for the kickboxing session. The idea was inititated by Larhalt. As he in training Leona the Teleport technique, he finds this a good practice for the Queen, especially with Marm's companionship.

Larhalt is living in a landed property in front of the bay of Papunika with his two adopted cats: NaNa and HaHa. There are several house helpers to take care of the place for him. The house is well-furnished with plenty of interesting facilities like kickboxing training room, in-house gym, in-door squash court and roof-top swimming pools.

It ends up with Marm conducts the training for Leona since Larhalt is practicing with Hyunkel. From their stage, both Marm and Leona are aware of how serious the guys' training is.

"Concentrate here." Marm tells Leona, "Higher."

 _Gosh, Marm can be really tough too._ Leona is thinking. She can kick higher but there is no power at the kick at all. And hence, Marm keeps pushing Leona to be stronger and put on more energy.

"Oh my god." Leona's energy is consumed fast.

"I think it's enough for you today, Leona. You've done pretty well." Marm smiles.

"Really? Glad to hear that. Do you want me to help you?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine training alone."

And Leona leaves Marm practicing alone. Marm is really powerful. Leona is not aiming to be at Marm's level, but at least she'd aim to do teleport alone by herself. She determines.

Leona looks at Larhalt and Hyunkel's stage, the guys are sure showing no mercy to each other. If they are training at this rate everyday, no wonder they are still very fit.

"Hi guys, are you done?" After half an hour, Leona gets bored.

"? Why are you not practicing?" Larhalt looks at her.

"I've been practicing for an hour, even Marm says it's enough."

"Oh I see, sorry." He comes to her. "Want to practice with me?"

"No. I've done enough today."

"Ok, we will continue tomorrow, until your Qi is enough for teleport."

"With this rate of practice, i think the progression would be very slow." Leona says. She gets tired very fast. Her current limit is one hour of moderate training.

"You would improve faster after a couple of months, keep practicing everyday and don't give up." Larhalt tells her.

Leona can feel, in many ways Larhalt is much more patient and gentle than Marm.

...

When the training and everything are done, they go out for a drink. An out-door bar at the quay side is one among some of their favorite places. There are many nice bars in the capital city of Papunika, but the night life here sharply ends at midnight. Leona has signed an Act that bans public drinking and alcohol selling from twelve midnight till seven in the morning. However, citizens can drink at home as well as guests can do so at hotel and resort permises.

Leona is looking at the photos of Hyunkel's new house and accidentally swipes to the lwrong side and sees the photo of Hyunkel and Marm, looks like they were in Romos together. Leona only smiles.

"I'm moving out of my current place soon, sine there are tenants asking for immediate move in." Hyunkel says.

"But you still have five, six months to go. Why renting out your house in a rush." Leona is surprised, this doesn't sound like him.

"I authorize an agent for the job because I don't have time to meet each tenant. It's fine if I don't accept this request. She gives me several other tenants. But since I would move out anyway, I'd rather settle this as soon as possible."

"It's cool. You are really fast." Leona nods in agreement. "Seems like somebody is having a house mate."

"Although I do hope it's a more beautiful house mate, in different gender, i mean." Larhalt tells Leona while Hyunkel is only keeping quiet and has a sip of wine.

He doesn't have to rent out his house in Papunika. But at least when he is living in Larhalt's place for these months, there would be no opportunity to be in any house alone with Marm.

"Is it the same agent we met at Romos?" Marm asks in a sudden. She has been enjoying her drink and music but it does bother her when she remembers the house agent, who keeps aksing Hyunkel out for lunch, dinner, etc, yet never includes Marm.

"Yes, the same one."

"Is she that good?" Marm looks annoyed.

"Maybe she is only good to Hyunkel." Leona says and gives a high five to Marm. That makes Marm smiles.

"She acts fast." Hyunkel says.

"She knows you guys are together but she only asks you out, don't you think it's not normal? I'd say it's kind of rude."

"I don't know her intention and I don't consider it, too. I only acknowledge that she acts very fast and helps me to save time."

"You'd better watch out, Marm. There are plenty of smart women working around him." Leona whispers to Marm.

Hyunkel looks at Marm and asks, "You don't like the agent?"

"No, I don't like her. But it's only a personal feeling. Just let me join the lunch or dinner or whatever of you two."

"I prefer dining alone with Marm. You still owe me some traditional foods of Romos." He smiles and carresses her hair.

At that time the waitress brings two glasses of cocktail to Marm and Leona. "The gentleman of that table have bought drinks for you, ma'am. Enjoy."

They all look at that table and see a young foreigner. He is quiet good looking and seems to be well off. He winks to both ladies and blows kisses to them.

Leona feels yucky.

"Please return both to him." Leona tells the waitress.

"He is the prince of Benga." Hyunkel says, after studying the foreigner with a low goodwill.

"I don't think he recognizes you, Leona, based on the way he looks at you and Marm." Larhalt is annoyed.

"He seems drunk, don't bother him." Marm doesn't care.

"I guess he is pretty pressured by his father. By the way, I see Pop and Menru at the table behind, guys." Leona smiles when seeing the farmilar body shapes of her friends.

The friends eyes on that table and quickly recognize the newly wedded couple. They wonder why both are still here. It has been three days, all of them expect Pop and Menru have at least gone to some cities nearby.

End Chapter 16.


	17. Chapter 17 - Goodbye, I Love You (II)

**Chapter 17 - Goodbye, I Love You (II)**

Pop and Menruru are enjoying the time and seem not noticing the friends or anybody surrounding them. They looks very happy and into each other's stories.

Seeing that, no friends sitting at the same bar wants to disturb them.

"Well, they are in honeymoon anyway." They turn back to their table and leave Pop and Menru alone.

The prince of Benga is grumpy. Moments ago he offered a drink to the doved-eyes and black hair beauty at the table behind, but her boyfriend took the drink and consumed all in front of his eyes.

Now, the two beautiful ladies return the cocktail he bought for them.

"What happended to these girls in Papunika, are they out of their minds?"

"Sir, I'm afraid this is not their cultures."

"Ask them to come here."

 _What to do._ The old man knows his prince is drunk, hopefully the young people of that table don't feel offended. He approaches the table as requested by his prince.

"Ladies, my master would like to make friend with you, could you please come to our table?"

His request is weird to them.

"If he likes to make friend with us, why do we have to come to him?" Marm questions.

It's difficult for the old man to find a proper answer. Leona gives him a way.

"Your master is drunk, you should take him home. His father would not be happy knowing this." She looks into the old man's eyes and says.

"Ma'am, why you seem to..." The old man is terrified.

Larhalt shows the amulet of Papunika as an answer, and the old man understands that his prince has just behaved badly in front of a royal member as well as probably other high level members of Papunika kingdom.

"I'm terrible sorry, Your Highness, Sirs and Madam. Please forgive me."

"It's not your fault." Leona smiles to him, "We are all here for fun. Don't make it too serious. Take your Prince home before he overacts."

"Yes, Your Highness." The old man's knees are trembling when Leona mentions about the Prince. When he remebers that the royal of this country is only left with Queen Leona herself, he runs faster to take his Prince home. The Prince has already falled asleep at his table. It's such an embarassment to act foolish in front of the Queen of Papunika. Her Majesty is right, the Benga King would be really mad knowing this.

"I'm surprised that you are keeping it. You seem more serious at your duty more than I thought. " Leona looks at the amulet of Papunika that Larhalt is holding. It's made of gold and embroided with the royal coat of arms , the amulet is only given to the Queen's guardian.

"I'm seriuos." He smiles, "By the way, it's pretty cool."

"How do you feel to be Leona's guardian so far?" Marm asks.

"It's the job he requested for." Leona giggles, "Larhalt, you have no right to give bad comments."

"Your heard what Her Majesty said Marm, I like this job a lot." He winks to Marm.

Marm believes he is definitely happy with Leona, otherwise, nobody can make him serve anybody. "Sure...On the contrary, I want to ask Leona, do you find him annoyed, disturbed and troubled like your several previous guardians?"

"Yes he is. He is very annoyed, very disturbed and always created troubles." Leona looks at Larhalt and teases him. "He only has the appearance, but it's good enough to make enemies, if any, get frightened and run away."

"You guys see what I fall into." He doesn't seem to bother what Leona says and just continues to drink.

"I know you both like each other. So, congrats." Hyunkel reveals his observations while glancing through the schedule of his work tomorrow.

Marm brusts into a smile and does a high five with Hyunkel.

Leona and Larhalt make no further comments. They know it themselves.

And after a while they see Pop and Menruru walking out of the bar, totally unware of their appearances.

"Oh... Lovey dovey..." Leona concludes.

Half an hour later, they make a wrap, too.

Hyunkel and Marm have a great kiss on the street of night clubs and bars. They are still roaming around the quay area before leaving for homes. During the whole day, he doesn't mention anything about last night, but when he kisses her like this, she knows everything has a tendency to continue.

"You love being kissed like this." He cups her face in his hands and looks at her fondly. Gradually she is so natural to express her feelings and her desires for him whenever they are alone. That's a good thing he discovers. "But what I did yesterday are not supposed to repeat anytime soon." He tells her.

"Why? Do you regret?" That is confusing to Marm.

"Not at all." He confirms, "I only regret if Marm dislikes it. On the contrary I know you enjoy as much as I do."

He looks happy while Marm is shy, "I think you like it more."

"Sure, I like it more." He admits and continues to walk her along the lively night street.

"Is our relationship going to somewhere?" She asks, being in a good mood.

"Both of us will work on it, right? When I decided to take that house, I have already pictured you inside. That's where I hope our relationship will go. How about you?"

"Me?" She smiles, "I won't tell. But as you are saying we are going to somewhere together, I feel very good."

"This's not very fair. You should tell me what do you feel about us."

"Then you'd know everything. No, you have to wait."

"But so far so good, I hope?"

"Hmmmm... Ms Emmi has just sent you a letter this morning, I know, and Ms House Agent has already asked you out for many times. We are together for less than a week but I find out that you are more popular than I could ever imagine during those years knowing you."

"What does it mean? So are you happy with our relationship?"

"You cuddle me, make me want something I never wanted before, and then you tell me we should-"

She is stopped by his kiss. All because he can't resist her loveliness.

"Are you happy with me?" He lifts her chin up and asks after enjoying her sweet lips.

"When I'm saying something, you'd stop me by the kiss and make me forget what I want to say..." It's fun to tease him.

"Ok... Miss Marm, if you are like this, you are gone now." He carries her along the street easily.

"Put me down...Where are you taking me?" She giggles and wraps her hands around him comfortably.

"My home."

"No, I don't want to go to your home."

"Why not? Don't you want to sleep with me and all that?"

"You said we are not supposed to repeat."

"I don't care." And he wants to kiss her lips again. However, two police officers are coming to them and asks Hyunkel to put Marm down.

"Sir, your identity card please." An officer asks him while another one checks with her, "Do you know him, ma'am?"

"Yes, he is my boyfriend." Marm never imagines the first person she says this sentence to is a police officer.

"Are you in concious, ma'am? Did you drink alot?"

"I'm totally fine."

"To make sure you are fine, can you tell me what time is it now?"

"Ten."

"Is he forcing you to go to somewhere you are not willing to?" Marm is asked continuosly.

"No."

"Don't be scared, you can tell me the truth."

"...I'm so fed up with all truths people believe to exist." Marm becomes impatient.

 _She is even prettier when getting angry._ The officer can't take his eyes away from Marm.

Hyunkel is returned the ID card after the remaining officer has done checking with the central desk. "Thank you Sir. Sorry for any inconvennience caused. Because many drunk foreigners are here lately so we just want to ensure the safety."

"I understand."

And both policemen look at the couple walking away.

"Why didn't you let me ask more questions?"

"It's written _Sir_ in his ID card, and the Central Desk asks me what happeded, why do I request to check his ID. They say since this is only a random check, we should let him go as soon as possible."

"I see, probably he is somebody, right? but I'm happy to spoil their moments and get the chance to talk to his beautiful girlfriend."

"What? I thought you have a valid reason to spot on them. I shouldn't have agreeded with you!"

"Come on... The night shift is long."

...

"What did the policeman ask that make you lose the patience?" They continue the walk, the night is still young.

"He asks me to tell the truth. I have already answered all questions, hence, what's truth is he expecting?"

"Sometimes, it's their duties to ask those non-sense questions."

"Infact, it's not totally because of the policeman, it's because I remember something Furora said a few days ago. She was saying Avan sensei will let us know when he finds the truth about what Matoriv told you. To me, this is our personal matter, I'm not happy that other people are deciding what is the best thing to do, even that person is sensei. I feel that our own feelings are not considered."

He understands Marm's point of view. But in his perspective, he looks at it more openly.

"He only cares for us, Marm. Anybody who knows what Matoriv said may all react the same, but sensei makes some further actions on his own because he treats us like his children."

"I know, so I never dare to stop him." She smiles at Hyunkel. "But whatever he finds out can't change my feeling for you."

He looks at Marm and feels slightly painful inside. Such a person like Marm may be too good him.

He takes her to the bridge side and they sit there.

"Although we don't have memories of what Matoriv said, it doesn't guarantee such thing never happens. I could have made us forget that. I believe Pop can tell if he is really focused."

"And if you did something like that, what would happen to us? Would we... break up?"

He holds her hand and says, "Would you?"

"I don't want to." She looks at him, "It was very childish but I was attracted by you even at the first time we met. Although every wrong thing you did has become the past, but several things seem coming back. Your eyes, they looks so sad now, do you know that? and your heart seems to be full of regrets again. Don't be. I love you from the beginning. I don't want to break up. I want to enjoy the days in Romos with you, and continue to do things we both like."

"Ok... We won't break up. Don't start crying..." He embraces her tightly.

He wants to tell Marm that she is very stupid to fall in love this blindly, that everybody who is aware of this may not support her, but he knows Marm doesn't care for any of those. She only knows that she loves him, she is childish, but he adores that. "Still, we would look for Pop when he is back from the honeymoon, ok?"

"Whatever you want to do, but we don't break up." She nods and holds him tightly.

...

At that night, he took her to his house.

They didn't even make it to his bedroom, he laid her down on the salon right after they stepped in the house. His lips, his hands continuously created the excitements araising within her. Her slim arms reached out for him, pulled him to her, and she herself took out his clothes. From her lips a sweet and soft moan came out when she felt his gentle and increasingly harder penetrations.

He continued to go much more harder until she was driven to the orgasm and all his hot liquid came out inside her.

Looking at both lovely cheeks that turned red, the sweet lips that tried to catch all short breathes, and the hairs that were slightly messy, he couldn't resist to cup that beautiful face in his hands and kissed her tenderly with a lot of love.

"You came so much... and today is not a safe day..." She said shyly.

"Even so, can I penetrate again?"He looked at the lovely face expression, and his hand moved on to cuddle her liltle wet spot down there again. She let him go on as an acceptance. Seeing the want in her eyes, he easily lifted her up, carried her to his bedroom at the upper level.

Marm at that night times after times seduced him effortlessly and ended up being entered and tasted completely. In his eyes, she was a spoiled angel who didn't stop creating fun on bed, she naturally enjoyed his body and loved the intimacy between them. There were many things he remembered about that night but there was a special love for Marm's long legs. They wrapped around him, showing him the pretty and sexy part of her that he could spend a lot of time to play with.

"I never know Marm is this slim." He could tell when his hand on her small waist. _And parts that are supposed to be big are big._ He was pleased.

"Because you never looks at me for long." She could barely talk. He was examining her body parts. His hand was massaging her lower tummy, making her feel good. _All his sperms are inside there now._ She thought.

"I'm not a pervert."

"Now you are, the biggest one I've ever known."

"Do I have other choices when the partner is Marm?" He concluded and gave kisses on the forehead and both cheeks.

"Hug me till we sleep." She turned her body facing him and wrapped him in her arms, she looked at him and smiled.

"Yes...I can do this everyday."

"But you have already rented out the house."

"I will cancel the agreement."

"Your House Agent will be upset."

"It doesn't matter."

She giggled in his arms. To him, there is a small part of a child in her when she gets jealous with other women for no reason, and she can be happy when hearing things she likes to hear. That is quite adorable for him.

"Let's sleep now." Both hands circled her, the whole body covered her, he embraced her fully.

"It's already six..." Marm told him softly. "We are supposed to meet Leona and Larhalt at the park."

"They'd be better without us." This was one of a few times he were lazy. He couldn't do any hard exercises without resting properly with his love for at least some more hours.

"You think so?" She smiled.

"Yes. And I think Marm needs to get some rest in my arms now."

She happily stayed in his embrace, her hands wrapped around him and he never felt more satisfed with his life.

...

When Marm is sleeping in his arms, some memories are coming back to her mind, they appear in her dream and she suddenly gets up, remembering everything.

End Chapter 17.

 **Related Chapters:** Underground Castle (I, II, III) and Permission To Love


	18. Chapter 18 - Over The Moon

**Chapter 18 - Over The Moon.**

The sunshine has no existence in their bedroom, leaving everything in a silent darkness, as if time has not passed by.

Marm has been awake for hours. She wants to live in this moment as long as possible. Because once getting out of this room, things happened here would not repeat.

The closer the relationship, the deeper the hurt. At least when they stop everything here, they have already had a good memory about last night.

"Marm, are you awake?" It's Hyunkel's warm voice.

She silently nods and feels that he is keeping her tighter in his arms.

"Did you have a good sleep?" Marm asks.

It was good until the forgotten memories came back. The dark magic he casted on both of them is no longer working because they have repeated what they did in that memory. He knows Marm would remember everything by now.

"Not really..." He caresses Marm's soft hairs. She is curling herself in his arms, her face is leaning on his chest.

"I...I remember something... I think you do, too."

His poor Marm. It must hurt her so much. "I'm sorry, Marm."

"You wiped out our memories because you didn't like them."

"No, it's not that I didn't like them, it was because I must not like them, at that time. Sorry, I don't have any explanation for my behavior."

"I understand..."

"When you say you understand just like this, it freaks me out."

"So we has always missed out that important memory when we developed the feeling for each other."

"Yes... It's true...Had that memory been with you, would you love me?"

"No."

And he takes it with a pain that cuts deeply to his heart.

He knows he doesn't have any right to question her about the answer. He know Marm is very conscious of what is being said.

Last night was not the first night they spent together. There was a period of more than a week when his army captured her that created a similar experience.

He was genuinely attracted by her. After days when some true feelings arrived and lots of hurts caused to Marm, he ended up casting a spell on both of them to forget this memory, so he wouldn't have to consider it and neither would Marm.

He is still holding Marm in his arms, feeling the softness of her body, he doesn't want to let her go.

But he has to. Marm is not feeling the same for him anymore. He who can't bring happiness to her, why having the right to hold her back.

Still he doesn't want to.

Looking at Marm who has been unmoving, the more uncertain he feels.

He lets her out of his arms goes to the bathroom to wash his face.

Marm's heart trembles when she feels that he is getting out of the bed. She knows her answer is coming out too fast and it may lead to something impossible to effort. But she can't make any good decision or proper situation analysis at the moment. Anyway, it's his fault. He has made a mistake, why is it her who feels bad?

Looking at his back, she feels even more painful. He doesn't seem to care for her feelings at all.

Marm wraps the blanket around her and quickly leaves his place with teleport. She can't hold her tears back, nor does she want him to see them.

...

The city used to be very small, Marm used to meet Hyunkel everyday and they hang out with the same groups of friends.

The city is now very big, they have many mutual connections, but he never crosses her pathway again.

She remembers exactly what happened in those first days of the break up.

On the first day, she cried with Leona.

On the second day, she kept herself busy at work.

On the third day, she was busy the same when Mom and sensei, Furora came back to Papunika with everybody, making the day a liltle bit brighter.

On the forth day, all of them went to the beach together. Hyunkel didn't join.

On the fifth day, there was another get together. Hyunkel was not in Papunika, Leona said he had work in Ringaia.

On the sixth day, she sent mom and everybody home. The loneliness seemed to be too much to handle. Leona was busy with work, Pop and Menru were still on honeymoon, Marm knew she had to overcome the pain by herself.

On the seventh day, he showed up while she was doing the jogging.

He didn't know that he drew all her strength away just by standing in front of her. But he was there to hand her something and said, "The bag of your clothes."

And her heart shattered again. She was angry and disappointed because he didn't even bother to keep them. "Just throw them away, I don't need them."

He then hold the bag himself. "Ok."

"Don't talk to me again." She told him and ran away.

And everything happened next was like a dream. She could feel the strength of him pulling her back and the next moment, she found herself in his arms.

"Come on Marm..." He was very gentle but his embrace was so strong and she couldn't move even an inch.

"Is this your goodbye hug?" She asked.

"No."

"Yes, it is." Stubbornly, she insisted.

"What if I don't want ?"

"You don't have any choice."

On the eighth day, she put the blanket in front of him when they trained Leona at Larhalt's place.

"Your blanket."

"Throw it away." He said.

And she threw it to him before walking out, leaving him alone when he was talking over the phone with the house moving company, having no idea what has just happened.

And the ninth day, the tenth day, Marm realized there was no more reason to bump into him. She started jogging in the evening because of some morning sickness she caught recently. She hang out with her colleagues or only with Leona and Larhalt. She refused to attend Leona's training.

But on the contrary Marm realized how precious the past was. The nights they spent together, the kisses and embraces, the plan that was supposed to come true, the funny time and sweet time... all of them became her close friends every night when she was thinking about him. They reminded her there was a short period of time when she almost reached the fillfilment of her life, when she loved and was loved, when she was happiest.

Every night, she was still missing that past.

On the twenty second day, Pop and Menru are back to Papunika.

"Guys, try the new recipe of detox drink." Menruru brings in a tray of healthy drink to offer for her girl friends.

"What are the ingredients?" Leona takes the glass eagerly. "And why are you so much into detox drink, Menruru?"

Menru sits down and places her hand around the stomach, "I have been eating a lot with Pop during our honeymoon. My honeymoon is more than a month long."

Leona and Marm laugh. The two crazy people Pop and Menru had no proper itinerary. They just went to the direction with their basic instincts. Sometimes, Leona saw them in the bar street, sometimes, they were seen in the beach nearby. But in the end, the couple made it as far as highland of Papunika and stayed there for weeks before finding the way back, worrying everybody.

Smelling the drink, Marm feels like vomiting again. She runs to the bathroom and Leona quickly follows her, together with Menru.

"Eat something wrong recently?" Leona asks. "Shall I call the doctor for you?"

"No." Marm comes out, "It's ok now. I'm really sensitive to foods recently."

"You seldom eat, too." Leona looks at her and turns to Menru, "Are we having dinner tonight? What does Pop say?"

"The table is booked. He said Hyunkel and Larhalt would be going." Menru smiles.

"If Hyunkel is going, can I skip then?"

"What happended, Marm?"

"She won't tell, Menru. She doesn't even tell Mrs Rella and Fufu or Sensei." Leona says.

"That's something I like to keep between Hyunkel and me. I really need to get over him." Marm looks so calm.

"But I like Hyunkel." Menru says. "I think you two make a good couple. I don't want you to seperate from him..."

"You have to like me more than you like him, ok Menn?" Marm cuddles with Menru and smiles, to cover what she really concerns inside.

...

They has a dinner together and it is a fun night. They goes to the bar after that and Marm just refuses to drink, she is afraid of losing her mind once she starts drinking. She can't control the feeling when seeing Hyunkel again. He is still himself, his eyes, his smiles, his voice, the way he eats, he drinks, all are exactly the same as her memories. Friends leave a lot spaces and time for both of them to be alone and Marm doesn't avoid that, so does him.

"Why are you so angry at me?" He asks.

"Because you did a wrong thing."

"Would I ever be forgiven?"

"It's not important. What important is that you never loved me from the beginning. I.. I'm angry with what you did, but what hurts me is the fact that you didn't love me, and you really don't care for me."

"How could you know that I didn't love you?"

"You left me alone after we made love. Maybe you don't realize it, but every small thing reveals the true story."

"You were the one who walked away that morning."

"Because you left me alone on the bed without saying anything."

"I was feeling ashamed to hold you in my arms."

"Hyunkel, don't say that."

"It was true. I felt slightly lost that morning, but when I didn't see you in the room, I was no longer myself." He moves closer to her and dearly touches her face, "If we could return to those happy days, how great would it be."

"Those days would not be back, we can only accept what had happened and moved on."

"I know..." He says. "My plan is still the same, I'd move to Romos, the house is still the same, and I didn't rent out the house here." He looks at Marm, looking forward to some positive expression from her.

"Good." She smiles. She feels happy when he has been living well during days they were not together, and this means he would keep living well. "Live well, Hyunkel. Don't feel bad about what have happened. As long as you are living well, I would feel good."

He is only drawn into her beautiful smile. There is nothing that makes him feel as good as her smile. If seperating and taking a good care of his own life can make her happy, then maybe he should devote into this.

"So you mean we should move on without being together?" He asks, hesitatingly.

"Yes..."

It's not the answer he wants to hear, but it's what Marm wants. How many times has he tried to get a different answer and failed? His fingers place on her lips and he looks into her eyes for the last time before walking away.

"Take good care of yourself, Marm. I love you."

It happened too fast, like a breeze, that was his last sentence before he's gone.

Marm feels lonely immediately, really lonely, and sad. She didn't realise he would leave like this. Probably she was expecting him to stay away from her but would never really leave her, no matter what she says. However, he... he has left just like that...

Can't hold the tears and all depression inside, Marm starts crying, ignoring the curiosity of some guests of the bar. It makes him turn back to see what is going on, and he is freaked out.

"Marm, why crying like this?"

"You are leaving."

"Isn't it what you want me to do?"

"I don't know..."

He pulls her into him immediately, he has never seen her crying like this before, "You don't want me to leave, do you? Tell me the truth, what do you really want me to do."

"Just love me..."

"I always love you, you idiot."

She shakes her head, "No, you don't."

"I can show you how much I love you again."

"No, then you'd erase our memories and leave me alone again."

"I wouldn't do that stupid things." He hold her closely and wipes her tears. "Who wants to forget all the sweet time with Marm?"

"You threw my clothes away."

"No I didn't, still at my house. You should come back to see..."

He is very close to her, so close that she can feel the familiar breath and heartbeats of him. He is felling the same way, tempting for her soft lips.

And Marm closes her eyes for a tender kiss that she knows he will give.

"I love you, and love you." He places kisses on her lips and her ears. "If that's what you want me to do, it's the easiest thing on earth, but also the most difficult thing."

"Why difficult?" She asks with curiousity.

"Because my Marm is the most difficult baby on earth." He said when playing with her lips.

"I'm not a baby, I'm..." And Marm realizes something, her face turns red again and her heart beats faster due to the excitement, her hands naturally move to the tummy to feel the liltle life that is probably inside.

She looks at him as he is holding her hand and taking her to the friends inside the bar. He doesn't know why is she having such a unusual smile, it seems like she is keeping some naughty secrets in her mind. He kisses her forehead and they walk together hand in hand, sincerely hope that they won't be seperated again.

The next two days, family and close friends receive a news from Hyunkel and Marm. And together with congratulations on a baby on board, there are expectations for a wedding to come soon. But the fact is, their wedding doesn't take place until a few years later. That his beloved students don't form a family before having children has driven Avan grumpy for a long time.

 **End Chapter 18.**

 **Related Chapters:** Underground Castle (I, II, III) and Permission To Love


	19. Spin-off: A Morning of Four Years Later

**(Spin-off) A Morning of Four Years Later**

Hyunkel is attending a long meeting in a couple of minutes. Looking at the image in the only picture frame placed on his desk, he is sure to ask this person today "When are you going home?"

...

Romos is quite different from Papunika. The country is bigger in term of size and has a longer history of founding. For generations Romos has been the world capital of gold. There are many prolific gold producing regions in Romos. Gold mining and trading are core advantages of the country. You The gold business are conducted in many levels, from governmental to corporate and retailing.

Hyunkel has no interest in this.

Before moving to Romos, he had decided to remain in the area of building and construction simply because he likes seeing harmony in architecture and urban planing. Very soon he operated his own firm in Romos. Running his own business has given him more flexibility and larger areas of development. Meanwhile, he is still leading the project being agreed and funded by all kingdoms in the World Summit four years ago. The project is in its second phase. He has been working with experts and authorities in all kingdoms that involved. He is no longer going to Papunika that frequently, his time has been occupied by new locations of the project and by new markets penetrations of his business. Work in Papunika is in a stable stage and is delegated to the regional office of his organization.

However, within the last two months he has come to Papunika for three times. He has no choice. That person is there due to her study and then due to her unplanned leisure trips with Leona.

Sometimes, when he is alone at night and that person is sleeping thousands of miles away, he doesn't stay understanding or cool any longer, he just wants to bring her back no matter what.

...

Emmi has finished a conference in Romos and plans to do spend some last hours roaming around the city before going back to Ringaia. Although it's not as charming as Papunika but Romos is not bad. She passes by an impressive building located in the financial district. The building is so special that she cannot take her eyes away from it. The most special thing about this building is the logo of Mn Komice. Emmi's heart has skipped a beat. It's his organization. Mn Komice, the famous architectural firm and construction group, it was established by Hyunkel four years ago when he left Papunika for Romos. Emmi eyes on the building and its surrounding. He must be there, just within her reach. Four years have passed, how has he been?

...

"Say bye bye to Karl and Danny, dear." Leona tells her boy.

Leona's family is in the airport of Papunika to send Marm and her kids off. Just like the harbor, the airport is located in a strategic location that makes it an increasingly popular transit hub. The airport looks busier than normal on this pleasant Friday day. Passengers carry their own stories, passing by, standing by, chitchatting, sharing some precious moments with friends and family before departing.

Leona remembers what he told her, " _The location is there, so is Bengaia having the same advantage, we need to invest more on the facilities, services and make it less complicated on administration process."_ Yes, he has been absolutely right when visioned this years ago: to place the airport and the harbor of Papunika as the megahubs, both are highly required for Papunika to be a key transit and logistic point of the world. Today, the airport itself has gradually become a factor for passenger to choose the airline. It has not only generated profitable incomes for the country, it also brings the name of Papunika to all cities in the world, opening a door for tourism industry of Papunika.

Leona hugs Marm before saying goodbye. "See you next time, should be soon. I'd bring Sisen there."

"I'll be waiting." Marm smiles and walks away. After a few steps, she turns back and waves her hands to friends again. They are still standing there to see her. _Such a good looking couple._ Marm blews a kiss to Leona. It has been fun to reunion with the great girl friend, but it's time to go home. Marm happily goes through the immigration with her kids and the assistant.

...

They are walking to the car, holding each other's hand. Sisen is independently walking in front. At 27 months old, the little prince of Papunika looks quite funny and cute when he walks. His parents can't stop laughing looking at him. Several safeguards are with them. Sisen is always active and full of energy, they have too much concern on the boy's safety to ignore advice of the Council about the safeguards.

"Shall we go to Carl next month?" She plans, "We can visit Furora to discuss some matters of health corporation and..."

"And...?" He looks at her sky-blue eyes, totally drawn into them as always.

"There is a world gems exhibition in Carl organized at the same time..." She giggles. Gems collection is one of many hobbies they share together, "I bet you are more excited at it than I am."

"Yes, I'm excited." He says, "but sometimes you are more aggressive."

"You are always more aggressive. You don't bother the price." She denies. "This time I'd keep an eye on it."

"Are you sure?" He looks at her, teasing, "What happened last year?"

"Last year was the exception." She says softly and leans closer to him, "What happened last year never stays in our memory, ok?"

He gently kisses her forehead and they keep walking, eyeing on Sisen closely.

In the exhibition of last year in Carl, just because Leona disliked the lady who was competing with them, she made him call for a pink diamond which was too much overpriced. After that, she regretted because she didn't even like the gem, nor was it that valuable.

He likes teasing her with that story so that he would see some lovely reactions and hear different excuses times after times, rather than that, he doesn't bother it at all. At 23 years old and as a queen of Papunika, she has a beautiful boy with him, she is happy whenever he is around, they have great time walking on the same direction to develop Papunika, they enjoy leisure time together, they have fun and troubles taking care of the child and they have amazing time making love, what else does he bother.

Four years have passed, their lives can only get busier and more fulfilling.

Just like other friends...

Pop and Menru are residing in both Teran and Bengaia. They have two cute kids: Melsa and Bob. Pop's happy and lively family is flying frequently between Teran and Benga.

In Carl, Avan announces he would organize a summer camp for all kids in the year the eldest kids turn six.

In Romos... Hyunkel and Marm have lived together for almost four years. The unpredictable couple got engaged suddenly after a short breakup, they are those who have kids at the soonest time, even before Pop and Menru.

And Papunika... during these years, Papunika has been a place that grows many beautiful memories as well as challenges for Leona and him.

...

Marm finally gets on board. Due to the Safety Acts signed by all kingdoms, none of them is allowed to use teleportation to travel across countries. This is quite troublesome at the beginning, but after a few years, all have got along well with it.

Travelling by planes with small children is not a pleasant thing to do. Marm can takes the private jet if she likes to. However, she'd like to give him a surprise and decided to take the commercial flight.

Marm has been in Papunika with the kids for almost two months. Hyunkel visited them more frequently than his time budget could afford. She can't let him do that anymore.

The couple have two children: Karl, a boy who is three, and Dan, about two.

Hyunkel has started training their boys at quite an early stage. Marm has no disagreement with him on the outdoor games and activities he plays with the boys. It scared both kids at first, they cried, they refused, yet they progressed. He tells Marm it's really hard to born like Karl. The kid is very responsible at this age, Karl always takes a good look over his little brother on his little own way. He will share his foods and drink to Danny in a fair amount. If his parents asks him to hold Danny's hands, he would never let Danny go.

Danny, at this age, always cries or shouts if he has to leave something he is interested in playing, especially children cars.

Karl would grow up very handsome. Everybody can foresee that. He gets almost all features of Hyunkel. Dan is a question mark. He is very cute at his age, he is much more chubby than Karl and has a smile that everybody falls in love with. Both kids have the long and well-shaped eyebrows of Hyunkel that Marm loves very much.

"Don't cry, Danny, we are going to meet daddy soon. Do you miss daddy?" Marm carries the chubby and cute Danny in her lab.

"Appa..." Danny mumbles, and giggles. Marm can't resist to kiss his chubby cheeks at both sides.

"Karl, do you feel hurt in your ears?" Karl shakes his head, and just plays with Danny, both giggle for no reason.

Looking at both precious boys playing is the cutest thing Marm has ever seen, and her Hyunkel must have been missing this, too.

In Romos, their house is located in a new residential zone where facilities, infrastructure and public areas are designed to bring quality to lives of residents. Most projects in the zone are designed and constructed by Mn Komice group. To Hyunkel, it's currently the best place to nurture the kids in Romos.

Before that, Marm and him were living in a more remote district where they did enjoy the its peace and romance. That was the first house they viewed together and was Karl's first home, after that Dan was made in this place when his brother was about several-month old.

The house helpers are extremely happy to see Marm and the boys back. They run to them, helping with the luggage or just simply stand there to greet the mild-lady, to see if she needs any helps. Marm is so delighted at some new flowers blossoming in their gardens. Noticing that, the gardeners proudly tell her more information. Marm cares for each plants the gardeners take care for them and always appreciates their work.

Madam Swan, the way Marm calls the chef lady, makes a delicious lunch for the boys. After that, their nanny takes them to a nap and Marm goes to Mn Komice building, using her teleportation.

...

The information counter of Mn Komice Group Corp is stunned by the beauty of the woman standing in front. She'd like to meet their chairman.

"It's difficult, the chairman and my boss are in the meeting. Could you tell me the name of the lady? Hopefully I can check for you." Shue, the board executive replies to her colleague of the front office.

"Her name is Emmi, she refuses to give her full name and her title." Kay, a senior staff of the info counter is trying to help Emmi. She has a feeling this lady Emmi is quite an important person, it shows from the appearance and gesture.

"Dear, the chairman never has any meeting record with any lady named Emmi before. Could you send her image to me?" Shue knows she'd better be careful. She doesn't know much about the background of her chairman, but he has many noble guests. Shue can never forget talking to queen Leona when she was working at ground floor as an info counter staff years ago.

The moment received Emmi's image, Shue immediately knows the identity of this lady. She quickly texts her boss to check with the chairman.

A few seconds later, she received a message from her boss that states " _He said Ok."_

Shue quickly makes a call to the info counter at ground floor. "The chairman would meet her after the meeting, but it'd be two hours later. If she is fine, you must have somebody assist her to the top level. I'd prepare a room here for her. She is madam ambassador of Papunika in Ringaia, so be at your best. Let me know when she is coming up here. Ok?"

"Thanks Shue. Madam Emmi is already on her way to the Board level. Ah, I'd like to let you know that the chairman's wife is back, too. She said she would be waiting for him at his room."

"I see. I like the news about the chairman's wife. " Shue smiles, "I think our chairman would be so happy."

...

Marm walks into Hyunkel's office. It's large and has an amazing city view that meets his demanding requirement. There is a living room and bar inside the room. Marm can just smile seeing the wine bottles, she quietly checks how much alcohol has been consumed for these two months.

She is surprised to see her picture on his desk. He said he would never put her picture alone because it would drives his attention away from work. But he is putting it here. The picture has recently been taken by him when they met each other in Papunika. _Do you miss me very much, just like I do?_ She sits on his chair, can't wait to see him.

...

"Hyunkel." Emmi stands up and tries to cover all emotions she is having at the moment. It has been four years and he is here, just a few steps away from her, Emmi cannot believe how did time pass over the four years when she didn't have him in her life.

He is among a group of executive professionals, and it's easy to tell his power and his influences on the rest.

Time has not left any bad impact on him. He looks great. He must have been working out daily to keep his well-built body.

He dresses well and carries a perfect manner. He is still too attractive...

"Emmi." Hyunkel walks to her. He doesn't seem surprised, he doesn't look extraordinary. In his eyes, she is simply an old friend.

"It has been four years. How have you been?" She eyes on him.

"I'm doing well. Sorry to make you wait. How have you been?"

"I've been working in Ringaia."

"I know."

 _But you never contacted me._

She sees the ring in his wedding finger. She can never understand why did he choose Marm over her.

"Shall we go for lunch? There are many things I need your updates." She smiles.

"Ok. I need to make a call in my room first. Do you mind following me?"

"Of course not." She is happy.

...

Marm heard the footsteps and she quickly hides under Hyunkel's desk. She is excited thinking of his surprised face when he founds her.

"So this is your office... It's amazing!" It's a familiar woman's voice that Marm can't recognize at once. She thinks Hyunkel is having a guest and she'd better keep quite in her place to not embarrass him.

"I need to make a call to Marm." He is telling the woman. _She knows me?_ Marm wonders.

Marm turns off her phone when it's vibrating. She can't speak to him now as the guest will find out the embarrassing childish thing wife of Mn Komice chairman is doing.

To Hyunkel, it's possible that Marm's phone is having no battery. Marm is always being absent-minded in this kind of thing. He then makes a call to Remi, Marm's assistant. Remi informs him that everything is fine, both kids are sleeping and is not able to let him know where Marm is.

Hence, he is calling Leona.

"Hello! Hyunkel!" The queen's voice is surprised and happy.

"Leona, how are you?"

"I'm fine. How about your side? Has Marm arrived?"

"Marm?"

"Eh... No...I didn't say anything about Marm."

"Her phone may be short of battery. Is she there with you?"

"No, she is not here... I'd tell her you are looking for her." Leona is glad that at least she is not telling a lie.

"Thanks. Enjoy your time, ladies."

"Enjoy your time, too, Hyunkel." Leona is smiling.

"What happened? You can't find her?" The woman asks.

"No." He simply says.

"I heard from Marlin that she has been in Papunika for months, and she is really having fun, you know... It's the art festival now in..." The woman's voice is very excited and they seem leaving the room.

Listening to all those, Marm realizes it is Emmi's voice. She gets out of her hiding place. For some seconds she just glazes at her picture on Hyunkel's desk. _How can I am here while Emmi is going to have lunch with my husband?_

She runs to the door and almost bumps into the person who is opening it from the outside.

"Oh... Marm..."

It's her Hyunkel. His face is really surprised just as her prediction.

He is here for the car key. He finds that he could be angry like a kid when she ignored him. But when he is standing in front of her, all he wants to do now is to get her into the room and shows his man power.

"When did you arrive Romos? How long have you been waiting here..." Marm is walked back to his office. She dresses herself simply in a shirt of medium length and the long tight pants. There is a nice smell from her that he is addicted to.

"Don't you like the surprise?" She asks him, comfortably leans on him and stays in his strong arms.

"I do. I like this kind of surprise." He says while kissing her cheeks. "That's why nobody tells me where you are."

"I miss you very much. So I come here to see you first. Karl and Danny are home now."

"I see." He definitely likes hearing that. "So what can I do for you? Mrs Marm."

"Take me to lunch, maybe? Or are you taking another woman for lunch?"

"Yes...now I remember I'm having a lunch." He seems disappointed.

"Then let's go to the lunch first, ok?"

"No. Show me how much you miss me first."

She kisses on his cheek quickly. "This is my 1% deposit." She smiles and caresses his face.

"Hmm... that's it? You stingy Marm." He continues to hold her in his arms and moves his fingers on her lips. He doesn't want to let her go yet.

She looks at his fingers, tempted... "But I'd do anything you want later." She promises Hyunkel. She definitely wants to love him more than any woman does, because she knows how it feels like when he makes love to her.

"You really know how to make me wait." He pinches her earlobe and is glad to hear the sincere promise. Then he places a hard, passionate kiss on her lips. "I don't give deposit. This is my free gift." He says while kissing all over her sweet and soft lips.

Marm's hands are wrapping around his neck, she giggles after receiving his kiss, "Aren't you making a loss giving too many free gifts?"

"I never make any loss with this customer." He places both hands on her tiny waist, eyeing on the fullness of her breasts covered under her shirt. The temptation is so strong that he can't resist. "Why do you show up this delicious?" He looks into her eyes and asks.

"Are there other customers? There are many beautiful and talented ladies you meets at your work."

"Who are they? You're gone here, Marm." He traces his lips to her neck and shoulder while his hands find the familiar way to unbutton her shirt. With his passion he quickly brings in a course of excitement that runs through her body and her mind.

Her lips are slightly parted and let out of some sexy breaths. She looks at him passionately and wraps her hands around his body, pulls him closer to remove his vest and tie.

This urges him to lay her down on the floor, slightly spreads her legs to make some spaces for him in between. He goes on top of her, removes her shirt and circles her half-naked body in him.

They tends to lose their minds when his mouth and tongue continuously move with a pleasant rhythm around her breasts, latching and sucking her nipples hardly. He makes her let out a lot of exclaims of pleasure and all of her noises are driving him to the stronger urge. He is ruthless to make her knows how much has he been desired for her, he makes her feel wanted, he makes her feel beautiful. Marm can't stop him and can't stop herself neither. It has been more than ten days of separation, there are so much loves, drives and emotions that need to release. He kisses all over the naked parts of her body, fully turns her on.

Marm sits on him and starts unbuttoning his shirt, "I'm not letting you go to any lunch." And she cup his face in her hands, kisses his mouth deeply until she herself can't breathe. "Not going for lunch now..." She demands.

"Ok..." He finds his phone and sends a text to Emmi.

"What do you text her?" She asks, placing her lips everywhere on his chest.

"Do you really bother?" He grabs their clothes and take Marm home with the teleportation.

He is not back to his office for the day.

...

Emmi decides she would delay her flight to ask Hyunkel out for dinner instead.

"Dinner? Am I invited?" Marm reads the text together with Hyunkel on their bed. They have made love for the whole afternoon, and now, he keeps her in front of him, wrapping his arms around her body.

"Sit on me again and I'd let you join."

"What? How come you be so mean?" She pinches his face.

"Sit on me, babe." He asks, kissing her cheek.

"No."

"Ok ..." And he pushes her on the bed to lay down on her. He stars with her lips, moves down to her neck, her shoulder and further down till below her tummy. Eventually, she sits on him again.

That night, in the dinner, Emmi is quite shocked seeing Marm and two boys accompanying Hyunkel. She never pictures his family this beautiful. It makes her dislike Marm more.

 **End (A Morning of Four Years Later)**

 _Note: Edited (Revised Title)_


	20. Spin-off: Birds In The Sky

**(Spin-off) Birds In The Sky**

Both boys have the hair colour of Hyunkel. Karl eats well and Dan eats slowly. It looks like this is how they have their meals everyday. Their parents don't feed them, based on Emmi's observation.

"I can't believe your eldest kid has turned three. I didn't know you started the relationship that fast."

"Yes, time flies." He smiles, and has a warm eyes contact with her. Emmi feels slightly lost when he is no longer the man she knew years ago. Now he is fully committed not only to Marm, but also to their kids.

"So how is Ringaia?" Marm asks Emmi.

"I like my job, especially now. You know, self achievement makes me feel accomplished. I'm not into kids yet but if there is a suitable person..."

 _You have taken the best person._ Emmi thinks. _When did you..._

But such a long time has passed. Everything is too late.

...

Hyunkel drives Marm and the kids home. When Marm is not around, he seldom drives. When Marm is not around, his evenings are occupied by all dinner meetings and events. Hyunkel is involved in political matters of Romos, something tagged along by the networks he has and the influences of Mn Komice Corp. And when Marm is around, they attend these functions together.

Marm is active in community projects that help children, elderly, women, animals... all are her loves. People in Romos usually see Marm with her hair up and a casual style of long tight pants, shirt of medium length. But the simplicity can neither hide her natural attractiveness nor a fact that she is milady of the powerful Mn Komice corporation. And the simplicity would be faded away the moment people see her watch, normally made of gems like diamonds and emeralds. Her watch collections are exceptional luxurious items that they seldom see anyone else wear.

To be honest Marm is influenced by her husband and is spoiled by him.

The drive to home is quite noisy with Karl and Danny's voices singing at back seats and news of Teran that Hyunkel and Marm are listening from radio. Teran has been a concern of many countries due to its happening conflict between the public and royal government.

People in Teran want to have more voices and start going against the monarchy systems where all powers gathered at royal family. These problems were triggered when power was transferred to the new king of Teran. His new majesty doesn't prove to be a capable leader after two years of staying on his throne. The government of Teran is not able to stop public attacks, and leading parties of Teran even have conflicts among themselves. None countries are keen on supporting.

 _"The more involvements of outsiders, the messier_." Pop told them.

According to Pop, Teran may become the first country that eliminates monarchy system, and he supports that, even financially.

Both Menru and himself have a close relationship with the former King of Teran and several leaders in the armies, this relationship puts Pop in a difficult position to balance what he supports for future and what he valued in the past.

But even though it would be simpler for Pop and Menru to just live in Benga and stay away from all conflicts in Teran, they decide to remain residing there. Pop's corporations H-bol Metta has such a strong influence on Teran's economy and they want to use their influence to support the rights of people.

That's why friends recognise Pop and Menru as being perfect for each other.

 _"How about your children?"_ Marm asked them. _"It's not political stable in Teran and you guys are so handed-on, why don't you send the kids to us?"_

 _"No, Marm... The best place for them to_ _live is beside us. I can take_ _care of their safety."_ Pop assured.

And Menru agrees with him.

Marm is kind of not supporting the change. To her, the change may be too huge and too uncertain, she is concerned on safety of the vulnerable. This point of view is quite different from all of her friends, even Hyunkel's. But Hyunkel knows Marm is not wrong, it's just that he would support the chance for something better.

And now Marm is listening to the news with a tenseness. There is a public attack in Teran right at the moment. The attack started hours ago and still going on.

"It's the battle of people in Teran. Don't worry, this is not a time something like war would happen." Hyunkel tells her.

"Then what would these conflicts lead to, what do you think?"

"Probably they would split the country through a legal agreement, or they would evolute for a new political system. Without war. Nobody in Teran is keen on war."

"You are involving in something, aren't you?" She asks him with questioning eyes. Because his answer gives her a hint that he knows too much.

"I support Pop, that's it." He smiles. "The issue in Teran has occupied a little bit of my time recently."

He says and reaches for her hand, hold it in him. "Now I can't wait to have Marm fullfill her promise tonight."

"But it was done before the dinner."

"Not at all."

"Daddy, Kar and Dannie want Kuk Kuk song." It's Karl's voice from behind, driving their attentions away from the news of Teran. After all adulthood issues they have a cute world to share with two little passengers at the back seats.

Hyunkel and Marm bursts into smiles. They always have to listen to children songs when the boys on board.

"Ok, here you go guys..." He changes the audio to their favourite songs and the kids dance from their seats and laughs excitedly.

Karl and Danny do talk a lot when they sit in the car. Danny is learning to speak words by words and most of the time, Karl is the one who gets him the fastest.

...

The boys are sleeping in Marm and Hyunkel's room. As usual they had fun time fighting with their father to rescue each other before the sleep.

Seeing these three guys occupying the bed, Marm wants to have her _team_ , too.

"But not now..." She sits on Hyunkel and wraps her arms around him.

"Well, even when Dan is eighteen, we are still able to have a new baby."

She reacts to his response by biting him on his shoulder.

"... If you wanna bite, bite my fingers."

"No." She shakes her head and keeps placing her lips on his shoulder, kissing and biting him all over there.

And he carries her to the reading lounge of their bedroom to not wake the kids up

...

"I'm not going away for months again."

"What a surprise... Why?" He seriously is, he can also feel how tight she is holding him.

"I don't want to sleep without you. You have spoiled me in this home."

"I know. I can spoil you more."

"Then... we'd go to Teran this weekend, ok?"

"Give me the itinerary first."

"You've just said you would like to spoil me."

"But I have to be careful with Marm, so easy to be cheated by Marm."

"I don't cheat... I can quickly finish the itinerary now." She smiles happily while stretching her hand to reach the notebook on desk, and he has to hold her back before she may fall down. The desk is totally out of her reach.

"So lazy, Marm. Just walk there."

And he has a good short time looking at the naked Marm walking around the room.

...

Danny gets up in silence. He is yawning and moving along the bed, and then sits up, discovers only brother and himself in the room.

He looks around and climbs down the bed. Danny knows where dad and mom are. He happily runs to "dad and mom's room", where he can always find them if they are not on the bed.

"Appa... Up up" Danny laughs and tries to talk to Hyunkel. He is so happy to wake up dad and mom but they are still sleeping. So after a while Danny plays alone by himself.

He doesn't have many toys, just a little tiger car that he has to push by himself, he takes a ride on it around the room, lays on the sofa, runs to the window to look at birds outside, waves his little hands to say hello with gardeners. Getting tired, he climbs back to bed and wakes the brother up.

"Good morning Dannie." Karl says and yawns.

"Birds..." He points toward the window to show his brother.

"Wow... There're alot birds! Dannie, you are so cool." Karl looks at his brother with excitement.

"Dannie's birds. Kar Kar's birds." Danny claims and claps his hands.

Karl laughs. He helps his brother to climb down the bed and walk to their parents together.

"Daddy, mom, get up. You have to get up when it's morning."

Hyunkel is partly waken up, not because of Karl's voice but because Danny keeps patting on his shoulder.

"Morning boys. How come you both are here..."

"Dannie finds a lot of birds." Karl tells Hyunkel.

"Really? Dannie? Show me, ok?" He pinches the chubby cheek of his boy.

Looking at Marm who is still asleep next to him, he puts on the robe and quietly carries both boys out of the lounge. It is not even seven in the morning.

The morning of Romos is brighter than Papunika. The whole sky is turning to blue. In Papunika, the sky would be coloured in the sunrise pink at this hour.

Hyunkel carries the boys to the balcony because they want to see birds. Being nature fans, Marm and himself have a good amount of birds families in their garden.

"Big big birds." Dannie points to the sky.

These flying big creature quickly catches the baby boy's attention. And they are very noisy, Dannie automatically covers his ears. So does Karl.

"Not birds, they are airplanes." Karl corrects the little brother.

Hyunkel looks at the sky, all flying objects are seen with the royal's coat of arms of Bengaia. He is concerned.

They are not airplanes, they are air forces.

 **End (Birds In The Sky)**

 _Note: Edited (Revised Title)_


	21. Chapter 19 - Good Morning Papunika (I)

**Chapter 19 - Good Morning Papunika (I)**

September has come and gone, leaving Papunika in the beautiful fall.

This is the fourth year Leona stays on her throne, and days as a queen are easily passing by.

It's just that sometimes, people of Papunika have forgotten a fact that their queen would only reach twenty in the coming birthday.

For four years she has appeared as a pride of the nation. To Papunika people she owns the position of an ultimate leader.

Driving on the highway and being updated with the news that Leona is attending a story telling session with children, Larhalt can't stop smiling. Today is Sunday. This proves Leona as a royal who work hardest. _And does she like children?_ Well, he thinks she like them but she is not into the level of telling story to them.

He is far away from Papunika and may not be able to attend Leona's birthday party, which is a national event in Papunika when tomorrow comes. In addition to be her guardian he also has his business to take care of. He takes everything easy going but the closer he is to Leona, the more ambitious he becomes. And with the growing ambition, he aims to have his corporation net worth that is more than Papunika's gross domestic product. He has been carrying on horizontal integration in his business through acquisitions, merge and joint ventures across countries. He has a sharp vision on property industries and location he picks are key areas that attract business. He doesn't compete with Hyunkel in this and they are partners in all property projects they have connection with. While Hyunkel focuses on the construction industry and goes for vertical integration as a direction to expand his business, Larhalt is more aggressive.

Leona is always keeping close eyes on what's going on. She trusts that Hyunkel would know where to stop and she remains silent. Yet to Larhalt, she is straightf to warn him from playing the monopoly game, at least in her country.

" _You don't have any law regarding this, my Queen."_ He said.

" _Then I would have_."

But his intention is never about having the power of monopoly, Leona soon realises that he would stop at a point when his corporations dominant the industry, become main players, and he then expands the acquisition to other industries, for example, from proper to monetary and banking industry.

" _You seem not interfering my business any longer._ " After a while, he asked her, when he doing the guardian's duty at her overseas trip.

" _I know I don't have to._ " She replied simply.

" _No, you don't have to. In stead, you can value my corporations the way you value Hyunkel's. The difference is, mine are bigger._ "

" _I do value Mic Dazel highly. I've just never_ _noticed that you are so ambitious._ "

"... _I'm ambitious in a good way._ " He said.

Neither Leona nor himself would like to make any move in their relationship. But about his underlying motivation, it is for an "if". _If_ there is a chance to progress according to the feeling, he will be able to give her a fortune that worths more than the gross domestic product of her whole kingdom.

Now there is something bothers him about the event Leona is attending. It's too crowd and are dominant by foreigners. Why does a children event in Papunika catch this much of attentions from foreigners? This makes him stop driving to observe the live news.

...

Leona is reading the book Wildlife on the bench and have a group of small children sitting on the lawn, listening to her and following her acting excitedly. A crowd of public is surrounding the event area. Although access is limited to children of the kindergarten, the public are waiting along the walk way in order to meet the Queen in person. There is a mixture of both local and foreigners. Teams of safeguards are gathered to control the crowd. The event is going to an end and they have to ensure Leona's security until she leaves.

Leona is happy with the event because this is her first challenge to interact with junior citizens. Amazingly, she overcomes it with an enjoyment. She never knows children can be so enthusiastic and cute. For the children at those ages, Leona is a real princess/queen. She is a perfect role model stepping out from the book, with her long blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. All children love Leona.

Marlin and several officers follow Leona on the walkway. It's not rare to see public enthusiasm on Leona's appearance, but today, the royal crew is surprised by the unbelievably big crowd filled up the whole walkway.

"Are you shaking hands with the people, your Majesty?"

"Yes. They have been waiting here for long, I should not disappointe them, right?" Leona tells Marlin.

And the atmosphere is full of happiness and warmth when Leona comes out and shakes hands with the excited public.

In the car, Larhalt follows the news with an uncontrollable admiration. Leona really loves everything she does.

But suddenly the queen feels such a terrible strong handshake that drags her toward it and makes her lose balance. Leona can only sense a dark ki somehow and before she can react, she is hold back in the arm of a person. He is standing in front to cover her, stopping the sword that was aiming on her with his bare hand.

"Marlin, protect Leona!" Larhalt sounds furious. After some quick moments to make sure Leona is accompanied away from the walkway, he turns to the attacker and destroy the sword easily. He is able to identify another six persons that are involved in the attack and catches them in seconds. Everybody is shocked by the way he acts, which gives no way and no time for the attackers to react. In a minute he drags them all to the officers.

"Are you fine, Leona?" He runs inside the school to see her, he can't hide the tenseness.

"Larhalt, your hand..." She looks at his bleeding hand, she has not overcome the scenario that has just happened.

"It's ok... Let's go back to the palace."

She looks at him and nods, "Make sure everything is ok here, Marlin." She tells Marlin before disappearing together with Larhalt by teleport.

...

"Oh my god... It's terrible..." Menruru covers her eyes because of what she sees from the news.

The Queen of Papunika being attacked among public is a shock to everybody. Papunika is believed to be the most stable and peaceful country. "Is Leona ok, Marm? Please tell me, I can't look at it..."

"She is safe, Larhalt has come just in time with his teleport." It's scary to think of what might have happended if Larhalt had not been there. Why would there be a group of people that planned to attack Leona.

...

"Thank you."

There is a mess out there yet peace remains in the palace of Papunika.

"That's ok, you are lucky the sword has not touched you. Where are all the trainings gone?" He sits in front of her, has her hold his hand and heal it with the Homi cast.

Larhalt seems angry and she would ignore his hidden anger.

"Where did you come from?" Leona asks another question instead.

"Romos."

She looks at him with surprise, unspeakable.

"Yes, I was there for an acquisition. My car is now left on the road." He says.

"You follows me from such a distance? You are very responsible." She smiles and is touched.

Can't control his emotion, he leans forward to embraces her fully.

His voice is warm and deep as usual, dripping into her ears, "You don't know my feeling when I saw what happened through the news. I counted on luck to reach here on time. Your other guardians are useless."

"What was your feeling that I don't know?"

"A fear." He releases her.

"I'm... still abit frightened, can you hug me again?"

"It's ok now. Don't worry."

"No, it's not ok." And she hugs him instead.

 **End Chapter 19.**

 _Note: Edited - A paragraph of flashback was removed_


	22. Chapter 20 - Good Morning Papunika (II)

**Chapter 20: Good Morning Papunika (II)**

 _"When I was growing up, I wanted to be just like my mother, being a beautiful princess living in a castle. But the fact is, my life turns out to be a much more adventurous one."_

Leona was very calmed to order a public speech right after the attack that was aimed on her. She showed up to public to not only ensure her safety, but also the national security. The public's fear has disappeared the moment Papunika people seeing Leona making a speech at her determination and with her undeniable beautiful yet powerful outlook.

"Is there any update on the culprit?" Marm asks Hyunkel when is back, together with Pop.

"No. _They_ work very slowly." He walks to Marm who has been waiting here with Menru.

"Can Menru and I use any bed room? I'm so tired..." Pop looks around .

"Make yourself home. Menru has gone to sleep. Seems like she is not used to the time zone in Papunika."

"Yes... me too..." Pop yawns. "Wake me up in two hours."

"Ok." Marm smiles, looking at him walking to the upper floor, "the second room on the left."

"So do you also have two hours to sleep?" Marm sits on Hyunkel and sets up the alarm.

"Yes. Pop and I would help Leona to find out identities of those attackers. Marm, you should sleep, too." He gently pulls her down on the sofa and kisses her.

"But I want to get up when you leave."

"Why?"

"I'm a bit scared." She admits. "I know you and Pop are so strong and skilled that not any normal persons can defeat. But we have no clue about the conspiracy behind the attack, what if they have one thousand warriors waiting for you guys? What are you doing tonight? Is it dangerous?"

"Our baby has driven you so emotional again, hasn't him?" He moves down to her tummy and kisses her over there.

...

Next morning, identities of seven culprits have been released as a group of foreigners. In a blink of eye the news is spread nationwide. The whole Papunika is angry.

Articles and reports with a hostile attitudes toward foreigners have strengthened the anger of public and created a stroNg wave against foreigners and foreign policies in Papunika.

" These articles, I view it as a biased point of view rather than the real voice of the public." Leona tells the council in the morning meeting. "These pieces of news are misleading our people, giving wrong pictures about foreigners. Our direction is to support harmony and multicultures, openning for foreign investments. I would like to know what are the reference behind these points of view."

"Your Majesty, have you concerned what our people want? What if they don't want the openness, what if they are more satisfied with being on our own." One of the committee member speaks out.

"Being on our own doesn't stay relevant now. We can't miss these opportunities that makes our country grow." She says.

"Certainly, your Majesty."

 _Too straight forward, a weakness of leadership. If you are this stubborn, you have to be eliminated._

One person in the committee thinks.

...

When Leona is left alone with Marlin and Apolo, she is asked by Marlin.

"How much would you believe supports from other kingdoms, your Majesty?"

From what Marlin sees, the Queen is sitting on her thrones, she is beautiful in the royal gown and looks determined with eyes that Marlin seldom sees on anybody else. Even the attack was sudden and shocking yesterday, Leona is still sharp and strong.

"Don't bother it now, Marlin. Cancel the interview this afternoon. I'd let you know when the next interview or speech is."

"Are you serious, your Majesty?" Apolo asks. This is the first time Leona cancels a scheduled item.

"I am. Now I would take a rest at my cottage."

...

When Leona steps out of the palace, Larhalt, Pop and Hyunkel are waiting for her in front of the car.

"Here are some results." Sitting next to Leona, Pop hands the files to her.

Leona reads through the report and glances through the photos, they raise her eyebrows a little bit.

...

"The Queen has just left, I regret to tell you our plan is spoiled in the last minute."

"Why is that?"

"She decides to take a rest and cancels the event."

"She is still a spoiled little brat, isn't she?"

...

"That's the main person who makes the birthday cake for me, and he has worked in the palace for twenty years, except the period of time that... he was on leave." It was the period of time when the whole capital of Papunika was destroyed by Hyunkel's army. Leona just doesn't want to mention it.

"I'm going to thank him in person. Excuse me for a short while." She stands up and follows her butler, leaving friends and sensei at the pool side.

"She never doubts at any request. Anyone can meet her, talk to her, shake hand with her..." Larhalt eyes on the conversation between Leona and the royal chef carefully.

"Don't be overprotective, Larhalt. This is Leona's residence. She is safe here. And as she says, the guy has been working hard for a long period of time." Avan says.

"What we saw from the news, that you were there and saved her out of nowhere, is pretty cool." Marm tells Larhalt and Menru looks at him.

"How cool? I can do that, too." This is the first time Pop sees Menru looking at another man, his reaction is straight forward.

"But it's quite... dangerous." Menru turns to her husband, "Although I know the feeling of Larhalt."

"What? What about his feeling? Why does Menru have to involve in his feeling?" Pop looks at his wife.

"I can't tell here, it's kind of a personal thing..." Menruru whispers to him. She looks shy.

"You guys... Could you stop talking about me? I'm sitting here and I can hear all." Larhalt looks embarassed, too.

"I saved you, too, Marm. I saved almost everybody, including Larhalt." Pop says, probably to his wife, whom he is holding close in his arm.

"Yes, thank you. And I saved you as well." Marm gives a thumb up and a lovely smile to Pop.

"So according to the newspaper, the attack was responsible by a group of foreigners. Is it the same as your both findings?" Fufu asks Pop and Hyunkel.

"Yes. There are seven persons and none of them are citizens of Papunika. Their nationalities vary, from Romos to Benga, to Teran, Ringaia and even Carl." Pop recalls.

"But these persons have only changed their citizenship recently. Their original citizenship is Papunika." Leona tells everybody what're stated in the report Pop gave her in the car.

During the whole yesterday night, Hyunkel and Pop were in different countries to look for info she wants. Pop took care of Teran and Ringaia and Hyunkel went to Romos, Benga and Carl. They both attempted to find information about the migrants and financial status, followed by social background of each culprits.

"They share a common way to get a foreign citizenship approval. All have residential property investments or business funded in the host countries. They were very quick to reveal their intention because they are meant to be captured and revealed identities as foreigners." Hyunkel says.

All of them know that it's not a coincidence that all these attackers happen to hold Papunika citizenship before. It only spells conspiracy.

"So it's quite confirmed that there is a plan to attack you right from Papunika. What are you going to do?" Marm asks Leona.

"You know me." Leona smiles. "But one thing I'm still not sure, do they really aim to attack me or just plan to trigger the public anger?"

"The person who attacked you aimed for your life. The sword is poisoned. I have just noticed that it has poisoned my hand." Larhalt removes his gloves and shows everybody.

"Oh... I think my homi is not strong enough." Leona is shocked to see the injury turns dark and bigger. "Pop, Marm, Sensei, can you do something? I'm sorry, Larhalt!"

"Should be fine. Let's heal him together, Pop and Marm." Avan says.

 **End Chapter 20.**


	23. Chapter 21 - Good Morning Papunika (III)

**Chapter 21 - Good Morning Papunika (III)**

"Hey, I'm sorry." Leona walks to Larhalt when seeing him alone in the garden. She catches him on the phone talking about his work so many times, and still he keeps eyes on her here.

"What is the apology about?" He looks at her with a curiosity.

"Your hand. I healed it badly."

"I'm not blaming the fact that you don't own a natural healing skill." He smiles.

"Are you being sarcastic or humorous?" She steps closer to him, these conversations with him in sunset time have always been interesting. When he doesn't travel to other countries for work, they normally chit chat with each other at this time of the day, in Papunika.

"Of course it's my sense of humor." He smiles.

"You know what? Sometimes you are strict, sometimes you aren't."

"That's why you don't progress well in teleport, my Queen."

"Well, actually...I can." She says.

"When did you...?"

"I practiced a lot after you left last couple of weeks ago." She has another sip of wine.

"Impressive, but not surprising." _Based on how smart you are._

"Hence you should take back the complain. Remember you said _Where're all training gone?_ " She mimics his tone of voice, still not forget being scolded by him the other day.

"That's because you don't pay attention to safety issue when I'm not around. And Marlin was very irresponsible on that day, I must say."

"Oh..." Leona looks at Larhalt, stunned. He realizes the same thing that has just crossed Leona's mind.

"I'd better leave now." He says.

Looking at him when he rushes out of the garden, Leona can't hold back the intention to stop him.

"Don't go." She follows him quickly and wraps her hands around him from behind. There is something she wants him to know, so that he would not throw his life for her again.

He is surprised by Leona's action. "Marlin is very close to you. However this is an important matter, you should not let the personal relationship steps in."

"It's not about Marlin. In my most unrealistic dream, I would do what I want to do. But the fact is, I'm a leader of Papunika. I can't act according to your and my feelings."

Her voice is soft enough for only both of them to listen.

Just like Hyunkel never talks about relationship, Marm never talks about money, Pop never talks about children, Larhalt himself never talks about personal feeling, nor does he has any intention to study or mess with it.

However, his interest toward Leona's feeling does exist. She is like a shining star, being out of reach, but very appealing.

He is aware of the crush they are having for each other, probably it's more than a crush for him in a sense that he puts her well being on top of all.

"You and I have an unnamed close relationship. I don't want to name it. I'm afraid it would vanish once I name it." Still holding him from behind, she keeps talking with a delication that can touch him deep inside.

"I made the vow as your guardian, that you are my Queen and I'd protect you. This relationship would never vanish."

"I'd seriously revise that vow." Leona murmurs, "Anyway," she takes a deep breath, trying to get more courage, "I realises I can't win over my feeling. I don't want you to be my guardian anymore, please resign."

"Never." He turns back and looks at her.

"Do you realise your chemistry toward me is beyond the limit of a guardian or even a friend?"

"Perhaps I'm not good at controlling my feeling. Does it freak you out?" Blood rushes to his face.

"Who is freaked out... but someone who doesn't take himself as the royal guardian won't be a royal guardian for long."

"I commit into the role." His facial expression turns serious.

"Ok...wanna have a test?" She looks at him and moves her hands over his strong neck. Everything comes next is like another dream.

She kisses him on the lips, in the garden of roses, at the sunset before her twentieth birthday, together with the lovely violet sky and flower scents, those tender kisses have him enjoy the moment longer than she expects.

Very shortly she can feel his hands circle her waist, pull her into him, there is no inch of distance between them and he drags her into another deeper kiss.

"So I was fired." He tells her. A smile is seen from his parted lips the moment they leave each other, the gleam from his hazel eyes brightens his face and for a short moment, Leona can feel the affection between them, that brings a slight blush in her cheeks.

"Why do you kiss me back?" She questions.

He gently strokes her soft, very blonde hair, "It's the natural way I'd react whenever you kiss me. Not because you are beautiful or because of your birthday, nor of alcohol neither. I'm not affected by alcohol easily like you."

"You don't seem to admit anything.." She tells him, and quietly has another sip of wine. Their chemistry does taste sweeter.

"We both know you should not act according to the feeling. Why do you still fall for this chemistry?"

"You would catch me, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, I would."

They don't have to talk more about this. She leans onto him and he hugs her completely. The feeling is growing so strongly inside him. He is genuinely someone who follows rules and regulations, he acts according to the limit of everything he commits to. But between Leona and himself, he won't stop her from doing whatever she wants. Somewhere in his mind with a strong determination, he believes they would make it.

In her mind, the traffic jam is not so bad now, her happiness is moving forward.

When they walk back to the courtyard, everyone is fully enjoying the dinner at the pool side.

" _Why are you so serious_." Leona answers without hesitation when being asked about her motto. "I'd ask myself this question to be balanced."

"You always appear very calm and approachable, nobody can tell that you are a serious person." Furora smiles. Just like Leona, Furora is quite a serious Queen, however, the optimism and sense of humour of Avan has balanced her.

"Most people from Papunika own appearances that are contradictory to their personalities. Leona and Hyunkel are good examples." Avan says.

Leona nods with agreement, "Sensei, you must have lived in Papunika for a long time to discover this."

"Well, several years. I raised Hyunkel in Papunika, nationwide."

Hyunkel still remembers those days. It happened before Avan and him started traveling to Romos and then separated on the way.

"You look like a foreigner to me, Hyunkel ... sama." Marlin suddenly says, after studying the physical traits of Hyunkel for a short while. "People in Papunika have darker hairs and eyes colours, except the royal family."

"Hyunkel's nationality is Papunika and his origin is from the North of this kingdom." Marm confirms, without hesitation.

...

Nobody knows how a baby going to be on board has affected Hyunkel and Marm. They spent hours in different libraries and book shops to look for writings about his origin, since they must be able to answer the child such question one day.

And they finally found the information from a book about civilisation.

"We now know your origin. But when will you tell me stories about years after you left Avan Sensei?" She requested.

"I will. But you'd tell your stories, too."

"I grew up in a beautiful place, I always wanted to go out and see the world. The end."

"Marm is cheating again." Looking at her, he shakes his head.

"About your stories, they have to be in details and in chronological order. So, can we start from your first love?"

"My first love?" He pulled Marm down to sit on him and asked.

"Is she a beautiful demon?" Marm moved closer to him and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips before he could answer.

...

"I bet you pardon?"

Looking at Marlin's facial expression, Marm guesses it's really a "I beg you pardon".

So Marm starts explaining briefly, although she can't stop feeling weird as Marlin is an expert of Papunika's history.

"Clan in the Northern Coast of Papunika used to be a well-known clan of warriors. Their hair colour is silver and their eyes are light blue, they are strong and naturally skilled in swordsmanship. People of this clan involved in major wars of Papunika and neighbouring countries centuries ago, they were assigned to different strategic locations and ended up mixing with outsiders. Particular physical traits became less popular due to that. But Hyunkel must be born a pure blood to own specified traits, most obvious from hairs and eyes colours."

"So you were serious about finding information for the child. You read books?" Leona questions Marm. Herself and Pop bet with Menruru that Marm would never touch any books even if required.

"Yes." Marm looks at Hyunkel and has him agreed with a gentleness to her that everybody can see.

 _Marm, you definitely can't win over those eyes of him, Papunika does have a lot of good stuffs. Myself is one example, too._ The thinking is running in Leona's minds when she observes Hyunkel.

...

"The Queen is coming."

It is almost midnight and Marlin has just come back from the party at Leona's cottage. The arrival of Leona at this hour is shocking to her.

"Something strange, My Lord. The Queen never pays a visit at this time." She leaves a message before going to greet Leona.

Seeing Leona and Larhalt in casual outfits, Marlin is less nervous. _Queen of Papunika, never know what's going on her mind._

"Your Highness." She greets Leona and Larhalt with a smile.

"I know it's late, Marlin. But I'm having a bet with Larhalt here."

"Certainly, I'd assist you with my best."

"I tells Larhalt, Marlin is the best expert in Papunika about history. He bets me wrong."

"Your Highness, Larhalt is right. I'm afraid my memory has been affected by ages. I apology for disappointing you." She knows very little about history.

Leona looks into Marlin's eyes, and Larhalt can see a quick expression of sadness from his queen. That expression, he never wants to appear in her face again.

"I see. Nevermind. Ask Emmi to talk to me tomorrow." Leona tells Marlin.

"Yes, Your Highness..." Marlin is happy that the Queen doesn't question anything further.

Sending the Queen and her guardian off, she is released. The trouble now is to talk to Emmi.

Leona walks faster than normal and Larhalt is following her without any question.

"The girl, she is not Marlin." Leona murmurs. "When the gate is closed, we do teleportation into the tower, follow her. I'm sure she is looking for Marlin to find out Emmi's whereabout."

Larhalt nods with an agreement. In his mind, he starts getting the full picture which Leona has seen before him. That's why she looked so sad just now, because that was when she realised Marlin has gone missing for days.

They quickly gets into the main corridor of the tower and follows Marlin from the top of the vaults.

"After the breakup with Hyunkel, Emmi requested to work overseas for a long term. That's her best effort to forget our friend." Leona tells Larhalt. "She doesn't even want to get in touch in Marlin or Apolo in order to have nobody update her anything about Hyunkel. Until the time being, Emmi is only reporting to me and I'm the only one who contacts her. The faked person would have no idea about this. She is definitely looking for Marlin to reach Emmi. Following her, we may find Marlin."

"Marlin would be safe. Don't be sad."

She looks at him and is surprised that he _knows_. She is angry now for things somebody has done to Marlin. Yet deep inside, she is sad.

"Your eyes looked very sad when you realised the person talking to you was not Marlin." He says.

"Marlin has been protecting me since she was a teenager. I couldn't believe she has gone missing for days and I didn't realise anything. Larhalt, am I doing a bad job about the security of Papunika?"

"It's not an individual job of yours to ensure the security of the whole kingdom, we solve the conspiracy behind all current attacks first, and improve the whole security system right after."

"Thank you." She smiles at him. "That person has been in Marlin's room for long. Let's get inside."

"I can't teleport into Marlin's room since I've never been there. You need to carry me."

"Are you fine to trust my teleportation ability?"

"Why are you so serious?" He gently wraps her hand around his firm body. "Just do it."

...

Marlin owns one of the highest leading positions in Papunika and gains the full trust of the ruling party. Her loyalty to serve the country as well as the Queen is ultimate. Everyone knows Marlin is an outstanding counsellor of Leona. These make her the best target of attackers.

Marlin's room is huge and is extended to multiple levels in the East Tower. She has been locked in the attic for days, drugged and starved until almost exhausted, yet she is trying to endure, to be aware of what has been happening.

With both eyes half-opened, she sees that person coming close. The person who uses spell for a face and body of her, is approaching her like a reflection from mirror.

"How to get in touch with Emmi?" The voice of the person has been twisted perfectly. Marlin has never heard her real voice.

"What for?"

"Just tell."

Marlin only smiles.

"Tell me!" The woman gets frustrated and almost hits Marlin.

"No way." Marlin is stubborn even she can feel a knife touching her skin.

"I've not seen a knife being used as a weapon for a long time." Standing behind the woman, Larhalt tells her. By holding the woman's hand tightly he starts hurting her, making her scream in pains and drop the knife.

Leona unties Marlin and quietly uses Homi to heal her dear subordinate. She urges Larhalt, "Let's go back to my cottage."

The woman is shocked to realise she has been moved back to the Queen's private mansion after a blink of eyes. She has the impression Larhalt is one of the strongest in the world, if her Lord has somebody who can do teleprtation, things would be much smoother.

Friends are even more shocked to see Leona and Larhalt in the living hall with two other persons.

"Marm, please help to heal Marlin!" Leona turns to Marm and has her friend act immediately.

"Who are you?" Leona is in the living hall with Avan, Furora, Pop and Larhalt to question the woman.

"I'm Ella, a former citizen of Papunika."

"You don't have the right to torture anybody."

"Never has it been my intention from the beginning. But for a bigger goal, I have to."

"Why are you behind the attack?"

"Isn't it obvious, my Queen? Look around you. You are surrounded by foreigners, you favour foreigners, allow them to come in and start dominating our country."

"We are friends of Leona and Papunika." Pop is near to Leona and is drawn to the conversation.

"No foreigners is dominating our country." Leona sits on the chair lounge, being calm.

"Just like my Lord says, you are too young to be crowned and you don't listen to your people."

"Ella." Leona stands up and walks to the woman, "I don't care what kind of foolish things you and your lord believe. All have to stop."

"Too late." The woman looks at the clock, "at the time being, Trilda Pier is on fire."

...

Leona is devastated seeing the Trilda Pavilion in the fire. Papunika armed force is doing a good job saving the Pier. However, the Pavillion building is definitely destroyed. The Pavillion is over a hundred-year old building and is protected as Papunika's heritage. The building has a proud past and everyone in Papunika values the Pavilion the way they connect with it.

 _It's really wrong and foolish to destroy the national heritage for your own goals,_ fire is set in her heart.

"I would trouble you again." Leona looks at her friends.

"No problem. I'm used to Papunika time zone now." Pop rest assures Leona.

She then looks at Larhalt and ofcourse he is with her, "I know Hyunkel would join. Not sure where has he disappeared though."

There are seven hours left till sunrise arrives the country, and when tomorrow comes, it comes Leona's twentieth birthday as well. In no way would they allow whoever destroy such a good morning of Papunika.

 **End Chapter 21**


	24. Chapter 22 - Everything Is Allowed (I)

**Chapter 22** **\- Everything Is Allowed In War (I)**

"You are back." Marm smiles seeing Hyunkel walking into the room.

To her surprise, he is in the battling outfits and carrying his spear.

She quickly realises he has something to do with the conspiracy behind current attacks to the royal and public of Papunika.

"It won't take long. Stay here and have a good sleep, ok?" He says.

"Are you going alone?"

"No. I'm looking for Larhalt, Leona and Pop."

"I wish I can join." She smiles, "You look great."

He has the new weapon which can transfer into the armor from Lonberk.

"Not sure how I want it to happen. I have been tempted to see Marm in the fighting outfits, too."

"You are here, Hyunkel. Eh...Sorry to disturb, guys." Leona gets in the room and is a bit shy to catch her friends' intimate moments. Pop and Larhalt are behind her, they're in the battling outfits as well.

"Wow... New spear." Pop takes a look at Hyunkel's weapon.

"A woman named Ella who disguised as Marlin for several days has just been captured by us. Now Leona is going to be in Marlin's appearance and take over the woman's role. Get ready. We all would enter the East Tower shortly."

"Sure." Hyunkel replies to Larhalt. His friends are all action takers. He thinks.

"Look at this note. Ella must have written it before meeting Larhalt and me." Leona shows everyone a piece of paper.

 _So mething strange, My Lord. The Queen never pays a visit at_ _this time._

"It was put in Marlin's room, the woman expected her _Lord_ to see the message there." The Queen explains. "He may have already found out the disappearance of both Ella and our Marlin. So we have to rush there as soon as possible."

"If they have already found out everything what shall we do?" Menruru is worried.

"Except us, nobody knows Ella is captured. In the role of Ella, I will twist the story." Leona smiles.

Avan asks Leona and Larhalt. "You guys have noticed those words being underlined, haven't you?"

"We do." Larhalt admits.

However, he knows Leona doesn't want to touch this topic.

"Why does the woman highlight these words?" Pop looks at the message again. "Hold on, it looks like a returned message to Ella. Is someone asking her to ... _meet me_...?"

"Yes, you are right" Larhalt tells him. "And this only means we should act faster."

"Dont rush into actions, guys. That person requests a meeting from Ella. While you have no idea how he or she looks like, Leona, how would you play this role?" Avan looks at the youngest disciple with concerns.

"Still we have to go ahead because there is no other options. Let's be extra careful. I believe Leona is smart enough to handle these situations." Furora speaks up.

Furora in many occasions are more daring than anybody else.

"I'm with Fufu." Leona nods with an agreement. "I'd be extremely careful talking to whoever I met in the East Tower. Larhalt and I should have stayed for longer observation just now, but we couldn't stand seeing Marlin in danger."

"It's good you are aware of the risk. However, is it so urgent that you don't have time to go through the plan once more? I know you are smart, Leona. But your enemies may be smarter. You should first know who the opponent is." Avan reminds his brilliant disciple.

"Did you take this piece of paper when leaving the place?" Hyunkel asks Larhlat and has the confirmation.

"Then I know who the _Lord_ is."

To the surprise of everybody, Hyunkel says.

"I was after _Marlin_ to the East Tower. When she came out to greet you, Leona and Larhalt, I got in her room and saw that note on the desk. There were no underlines at that time." He recalls.

"Perhaps she didn't lock the room because she expected somebody to come in. They might even have had a meeting there hadn't Larhalt and I arrived."

"I think you are right. Anyway, I had no idea you were in the room until you showed up."

"We are pretty good, right?" Leona smiles beautifully and makes a high five with Larhalt.

"When Ella was meeting you, a man entered the room." Hyunkel continues to explain, "I thought he was a cleaner. All he did was to tidy her room. But now seeing the note, I confirm he was the one who made those underlines. He was the only person who could access the note except us and the woman."

"Do you see his face?" Leona questions.

"At first, I didn't. As I said, he acted as a cleaner and left the room before the woman was back. But after you guys rescued Marlin and left with the woman, that same person entered the room again. Trilda Pier was on fire at that time and he couldn't hide the happiness seeing flames outside the window. He was waiting in the room for quite some time and got mad because the woman didn't show up . After a while, he left. I locked the place and came back here. Leona, he is the chef of your cake. I don't think he knows what happened."

"What?" Leona asks him with her eyes wide opened.

"I wouldn't have recognised him if he hadn't showed up in your pool party yesterday delivering the cake."

"So it's him?"

Now Leona also realises the reason why he has been working for the Royal of Papunika everyday for more than twenty years without taking a single day leave, but gone missing when the nation was occupied by the Immortal Army. It's true the environment was not safe at that time and she was not expecting a chef to join the army to fight for the country, but it also means that he was ready to leave Papunika at its most difficult time.

"Things would be better for us now. When you see that chef, bear in mind that's your _Lord_ and you are Ella, ok?" Pop tells Leona.

"And don't forget to control your emotions." Larhalt says.

"Noted." The Queen answers calmly.

"You guys also need somebody to replace the real Marlin, who is supposed to be captured in the East Tower now." Furora reminds them. "And I'd help you on that."

"It'd be too much for you. Fufu. No, I can't tie you up. Let Larhalt be the replacement." Leona says.

"Are you joking?" Her guardian looks at her, unbelieving.

"No. Why are you so serious?" She giggles.

"Leona, don't overestimate me. I can't change a male into female!" Pop says.

"Why could Zebola disguise himself as me?" Marm is curious.

"It's his dark magic."

"I have dark magic." Larhalt reveals and doesn't realise it shocks almost everybody. "But if I have to disguise as a female, I'd only be Leona."

"Ok kids. Everything is allowed in war. I have no problem being tied up." Furora says.

"Fufu, this is not war... yet." Menruru speaks softly.

"Good luck, everybody." Avan concludes, after hearing all conversations of these young people, including his wife.

"Avan, why don't you join us?"

"You all make a strong team so there should not be any problem." He smiles. "I don't think the chef came here yesterday just to deliver the cake. I'd conduct an inspecrion around your cottage, if you don't mind, Leona."

"Not at all, Sensei. I definitely don't want my cottage to be burned down when I'm back."

...

"Hope the issue settled soon and Leona can enjoy the birthday celebration." Menru closes her eyes to make a pray.

"Stay positive, it would be fine. " Marm rest assures her friend. The young mother-to-be is reading a book and eating cherry, her new favourite.

"When would you go to sleep, Marm?" Avan asks.

"I can't sleep. Sensei, you have done checking this huge building?" Marm hands a piece of cherry for her sensei.

"Don't be stubborn. Listen to Hyunkel and me."

"It's ok to stay up late once in a while. Leona is my friend, I don't want to sleep at this time. In fact, I wanted to go with them."

"All of you are alike, aren't you?"

Avan is pleased to see Marm's happiness from her eyes. She has such adorable smiles that make people feel very good. "Marm, we are from Carl, people in Carl commit to the relationship by forming a proper family." Avan repeats once again what he has been telling the couple and expects the disciples to at least consider his advice.

He is more involved in Hyunkel and Marm's personal life than anyone else. It has been his responsibilities to look after both on behalf of their fathers since childhood.

However, almost four months have passed and the couple show no intention to tie a knot.

"Don't worry about us, Sensei. We are very happy at the moment." Marm confirms.

"What does Rella say about your decision?" He walks to the bar and pours a glass of wine.

"Mom is fine with it."

"Of course." Avan smiles himself. His friends Rella and Ruka had Marm before the marriage, too. After that, they didn't have a proper wedding, still both of them lived happily together.

But Marm is not Rella. His disciple is less mature and Hyunkel is definitely making a mistake if he intends to delay the wedding plan. _How could they be that careless._ Avan knows he can only give advice. In the end it's Marm and Hyunkel's own responsibility for their lives and the kid.

"What are you thinking about Papunika? Is there any other things we can do to help Leona?" He hears Marm asking.

"Papunika is a happy country, how fast can Leona resolve this and what right message would she communicate to the public are keys to remain harmony among the nation. The fire in Trilda Pavilion is the final accident she can afford." Avan walks to both Marm and Menru and sits down next to them.

"Sir, do you think the attackers have plans to target other places?" Menru asks.

"You can call me Sensei like Pop does, Menru. Why do you ask this question?"

"You said Trilda Pavillion is the last place to lost, I think it's true. Leona may lose trusts among citizens if there are more serials accidents happened within such a short time. I wonder if she has paid attention to this."

"I don't involve in Papunika's administration but I know there are divisions that look into it, lead by Apolo and other authorities. Leona makes a private search for the leader of the attacking group, but all other actions for the security of Papunika are carried on publicly. That's why the Armed Force was there at one to take care of the fire. All are ready and the alarm is set at the highest level after Trilda incidents. For me, it's more difficult for the attackers to trigger the second public incidents. The "sudden" factor is no longer there."

"How about this cottage, Sensei? I wonder why it took you such a short time to finish the checking." Marm asks.

"It's not possible to conduct a checking on my own. An armed force is on the way. However, unlike public areas, this cottage is always in a high level of security. Even with support of Ella who used Marlin's identity, it's not likely they can set the attack here. I'm more concerned about that cake."

Marm and Menru eye on the lovely cake creation placed in the dining hall.

"Such a beautiful artwork, but Leona is not gonna enjoy it anymore."

"She'd better get rid of it, there may content poison or ..." Avan looks at the multilayered cake closely and tells the girls, "a bomb inside."

 **End Chapter 22.**


	25. Chapter 23 - Everything Is Allowed (II)

**Chapter 23 - Everything Is Allowed** **In War (** **II)**

It's midnight and Papunika is still fully awake. Celebrations of the Queen's 20th birthday has begun from this eve itself. For a week there has been night festivals, cultural events and colourful carnivals offered to people of Papunika and tourists. The atmosphere is now at one of its peak.

Despite of attacks targeted on Her Majesty and on the Trilda Pier, public and tourists are still enjoying the occasion and looking forward to the Birthday Parade, which would take place from Papunika palace to City Hall tomorrow. The Parade, contributed by Royal Armed forces of Papunika and hundreds of voluntary associations, has the reputation as one of the best parades in the world.

The enthusiasm of public only means a busiest schedule for officers of the host country. Being loyal and committed to Leona, armed forces of Papunika in all divisions take it a shame to let attacks happened to the Queen. Now after the fire at Trilda Pier, one of the popular beach areas of Papunika, they set a highest level of security alert across the country, especially the capital.

So not only public are awake, officers are, too.

Leona opens all windows fully and looks at the lively night outside East Tower with joy. It's good that people are enjoying themselves.

Tomorrow is her birthday, however, it's not her real birthday, it's the official one that was determined by her Father and the former Council of Papunika. Leona smiles thinking how would this surprise her friends.

Being the only survivor of Papunika royal at the age of ten, she hasn't had any personal celebration for a long time. For years she went through the real birthday alone and it has never been of any concern. But after forty eight months living under the warmth of friendship and experiencing border of death and alive with friends, she finds a lot of reasons to celebrate good personal time of her life with these precious persons.

Fufu is an example.

Furora is the Queen of Carl whose reputation has been known by Leona since childhood. In Leona's mind, through descriptions of others, Fufu used to appear as an Iron Lady who is not people-oriented. However, the real Fufu is warm-hearted, sharp, wise, easy to forget things, supportive to new ideas, adventurous and really, really royal.

Fufu insists to replace Marlin's position as a victim here. However, of course the Queen of Carl never agrees to be kept in the attic.

"It's boring there. This is what happens, tonight Ella drags Marlin out of the attic to question Marlin of Emmi's whereabout. Ok?"

"Ok." Leona agrees. She is always with Fufu in term of being flexible.

So the Marlin-Fufu is now comfortably laying on the sofa reading books and would turn her hands into the handcuffs as soon as the _Lord_ enter this room.

Marm is another example.

Marm's action-oriented and tomboyish characteristics were showed from the beginning. But when Leona first sat next to Marm at the first party celebrating victory against Harlar, she noticed Marm a purely disciplinary girl who never drank (this has changed though, now Marm has a high level to consume strong alcohol). When Leona saw the way Marm looked at Hyunkel that night, she also saw the other side of Marm, a sweet and caring person in love.

That's why Leona was unspeakable when Marm has Hyunkel's baby that fast, but was not surprised. In addition, Marm has the balance of everything: strong yet soft, stubborn yet reasonable, really down to earth, always fight for the weak.

Thirdly... Larhalt comes to her mind. However, she doesn't want to think of him at the time being.

She knows he is eyeing on her closely. Larhalt, Pop and Hyunkel are at an upper level of this room, remain a fair distance to protect Fufu and herself while keeping eyes on anything happens here.

"Why is she opening all windows?" Pop asks. When he starts getting bored, he will have some unnecessary questions.

So neither Hyunkel nor Larhalt is answering.

"That guy should be coming shortly. Leona has sent the servant to convey messages to him half an hour ago." Larhalt says.

"I have a strange feeling about the cottage. Can't wait to be back there." Hyunkel tells the two.

"Me too." Pop agrees. "Menruru has no defending ability, Marm is pregnant and only sensei is left to take care of the whole place."

"Anyway, we can trust sensei." Hyunkel concludes.

Pop nods with an agreement. "By the way, why do you have a baby with Marm at this time?"

He is trying to find out the answer to a mystery that himself and Menru have been wondering. Why do Hyunkel and Marm have a baby at such an early stage of the relationship.

Larhalt tries hard to not laug hearing the question.

"What do you mean?" Hyunkel is avoiding the answer in an inexperienced way. He never avoids answering anything before, however, telling these guys the fact that Marm and himself enjoy having sex without protection and how tasty Marm is are something he would never do.

"Commitment to the kid. Are you ready being a father at this point of time?"

"Yes. As long as the partner is Marm." He smiles.

"One more question, and I ask this because I really care for you guys, ok?" Pop says.

"Sure."

"Is Marm fine being a mother soon? I mean, we all know she doesn't want to get married."

"To me, it's adorable when Marm does whatever she wants. My Marm is still growing up but she doesn't have to be more mature at this point of time because I'm here. I'm the one who bears all responsibilities for both of us." Hyunkel looks satisfied with his life.

"He is already happily married. Or he considers himself so." Larhalt tells Pop.

"Then congratulations, and good luck." Pop laughs.

A feather headed from the lower level and lands in front of them. That's one of Leona's weapons. Obviously the Queen is mad because her friends are noisy.

"Ella."

It's the voice of the chef. He is entering the room. They can see his shadow moving slowly from the corridor of the room.

Leona looks at herself from the mirror and walks out to meet him.

"I've been questioned by the Queen at her castle. We don't have much time left, my Lord. We need to carry the final move sooner than expected."

The man's eyebrows raised. He looks at Leona, seems suspecting.

Leona is looking at him back. Now as he is showing up in front of her, she can have her friends arrest him here anytime. However, she is gambling for a chance to find out all remaining individuals or groups have been supporting him, if any.

"What did she talk to you?"

"She questioned my knowledge of Papunika's history and I didn't perform very well."

"Useless." He curls his upper lip and there is an anger in his eyes. "Let's go."

"My Lord, we have to bring along that woman. They may find her here."

"Just drug her."

Leona is surprised. She doesn't think the man would leave Marlin alive. "We can bring her to our place. It's no good leaving a hint for them to find out anything before we execute the plan." She says.

And the man nods with an agreement.

It surprises her even more.

...

Leona, carrying Furora-Marlin along, is following the chef heading up to the top of the East Tower. In her mind, she has no idea what is the final attack. She only knows for sure there is one, just as she is sure she can't let it happen.

"How can he hide anything here?" Pop wonders.

The higher levels they step in, the narrower the staircases.

In front of them, they still see shadows of Leona, Furora and the man constantly moving.

In the end, they hear an order from the man.

"Leave her here."

Seeing the stone gate, Leona knows behind it is very likely where the man hides his backup, probably army, weapons, systems or ... anything.

Leona has no choice but to leave Furora outside. She understands there is no way to convince this man allowing an outsider to be in.

...

"Now we have to leave everything in the good hand of bomb experts."

Avan tells Marm and Menruru. For the safety, everyone is outside the cottage.

"Your Majesty of Carl, do you mind corporating with us, it would be very helpful because you know who the culprit is." One leader of the armed force approaches Avan.

"Sure. However, we only need to focus on the bombs, there are other people taking care of the culprit so don't spend extra resources on that."

"Certainly, Your Majesty."

Marm and Menruru looking at Avan joining the experts of Papunika Armed Forces. Marm has a bad feeling.

"I'm very scared of bomb." She tells Menruru. "It's worst than any fights or any dark spell, it has taken away Dai's life."

"Don't drag yourself into the sadness, Marm. The baby can feel it."

Marm nods. "Hey, we forgot Ella inside the house!"

"Oh... How, Marm?" Menruru is freaked out.

"I will take her out. No worry." Marm smiles.

"Are you ok?" Menru looks at her friend, hesitating.

"This is a small matter." She rest assures Menru and disappears with the teleportation.

...

Just right after she is inside the cottage, Marm realises she doesn't know exactly where Ella is. She was busy healing Marlin at that time and only had an impression that Pop used one of the guest room to capture the woman.

As Marm is running rooms after rooms on these upper levels for the search , she can notice the movement of her baby. She bursts into smiles and talks to the little active guy, "This is the first time we are on action together, you are excited, aren't you?"

Seeing a typical lock with logo of the weapon shop owned by Pop's father outside a room in the corner, Marm guesses it should the place where her friend keeps the woman. The lock is not causing any problem, she breaks it at one.

However, after opening the door, Marm is shocked seeing Ella's original appearance.

"Ella... Why do you look like Leona?" Marm is almost unspeakable. In front of her is a young girl at the early twenty, her hair is long blonde and her eyes are sky-blued, her body figure is slender and she carries a softness around her, which is totally contrary to the sharpness and toughness Marm could feel when the girl used Marlin's identity.

"We need to get out of here." Marm quickly unties the girl.

"Why?"

Marm doesn't answer. If it was Marm in the past, she may have already revealed the reason. But Marm has learned a fact that it's not necessary to talk much to the opponent. The less they know that's going on, the better.

Ella doesn't want to follow Marm, she pushes Marm away and takes out another knife she hides in the boots.

"Let me go, or I will stab you."

"Come on, what can you do to me with that knife?" Marm shakes her head. But blood rushing to her face when she realises it's similar to Papunika's royal short knife that Dai used to own. "Why do you have this knife?"

"If you don't let me go, I can only kill myself." Ella is using the knife to stab her chest and that freaks Marm out. She immediately runs to the girl and heals her with Homi.

When Marm focuses on healing the girl, she has lost her sense of alert. Out of a sudden Marm can feel pains on her shoulder and it starts bleeding. The knife of Papunika is now stabbed there, deeply cut Marm's skin.

"Let me go." Ella's voice is furious, her eyes are full of anger.

"I can't." Regardless of Ella's aggressive reactions, Marm helds the girl tightly. Trying to endure the pain, she brings both of them out of the cottage with teleportation.

...

 _It must be a control system._ Leona can only find this her most exact definition of the room.

There is no army, no weapon. There are a lot of of complicated and detailed location maps. Glancing through these maps, she can see seven highlighted spots across the capital of Pupunika.

One of it is right inside her cottage, others include public places where the crowd are celebrating the festival.

"Painful to see the devastation, but we would rebuild the kingdom. It should be under our control from the beginning."

Leona looks at him with a questioning face.

"Don't forget, Ella. We are going to rule Papunika. The kingdom is mine and it would be passed down to you."

"But without the support of army or any party, how can we...?"

"We don't need any support. Leona has an ultimate loyalty in her reign. However, once she dies, the throne is naturally ours. You foolish kid shouldn't worry too much." The man laughs.

 _Oh my god... This guy is just a nut._ _It wastes so much of our time following him here._

"Well, mr my lord, are you overconfident?"

"Ella, how dare you talking to your father this way?"

 _Father?_

"By the way, my magic cast should not work till this hour. Why do you still look like Marlin?"

"The spell is conducted by you?" Leona is surprised. Even Leona can't practicte this kind of magic herself.

She knows identity of every magician in Papunika who owns such high magic power. But definitely she has never heard of him.

"You are not my child. Where...where is she?"

"She has been captured and so would you. You are not causing any harm to my country any longer." Leona says firmly and places an attacking spell to freeze him.

Unexpected by the queen, he is not affected, not at all.

From his eyes, she sees a gleam of coldness. His eyes are bright and familiar. Looking at them, Leona is unconsciously dragged into some memories that have been forgotten for a very very long time.

 _"I'd like to be like your mother, a beautiful princess living in a castle._ " _Said by her cousin._

 _Leona felt the same thing too. She also wanted to be like mom._

 _Her cousin was very pretty and warm. The smile was angelic._

Leona can feel the happiness when they played with each other on that morning.

And the sound adding with pressure of a power blast wakes Leona up to the present. When she opens her eyes, Leona realises herself is laying on the wet floor and can only feel pains across her neck and her head.

"Leona!" Furora runs toward her and hugs her immediately. Leona doesn't know why Fufu looks so worried, or why there is so much blood on Fufu's arms.

"Pop! Come here and heal Leona! She is bleeding too much!" Fufu is almost devastated.

"Queen of Carl, Avan's disciples and the Royal guard of Papunika? Then you must be Leona. My luck brings you here." The man laughs.

"How dare you hurting Leona!" Driven by anger, Larhalt takes over Hyunkel's weapon and aims on the man ruthlessly. Under the furiousness of the young royal guard of Papunika, the man quickly realises he has no ability to defend.

Larhalt's continuous attacks cause tremendous injuries across the man's whole body. In his anger and pains, Larhalt doesn't give any mercy to this person who cruelly push Leona's life to the limit. But he is not killing the man. He knows it and so does the man.

"Stop... Larhalt..." Leona murmurs.

"Larhalt! Leona asks you to stop!" Pop yells. He himself is also afraid Larhalt would destroy the whole tower with this rate of attack.

"He is ... father of my cousin ... Leave him alive." The queen tries hard to finish the sentence before passing out.

Larhalt's heart is broken seeing her eyes closed. He can't imagine not seeing them looking at him again. He immediately runs to her and it's unbelievably painful to face what's going on.

Everything is allowed in war? No. A lot of things are not allowed in war. Leona is not allowed to be taken by war.

The man can't stop the feeling of happiness spreading inside him. Leona is laying on top of her own blood. From his eyes, he sees her royal blood coming from the neck and the broken skull. Her eyes are already closed and her body seems unresponsive.

Even if Leona is not dead, she won't be able to remember anything, nor to lead the country. Ella... Ella would be the Queen of Papunika, just as her mother's dream.

The man is satisfied and crawling to the control system without the notice of anyone. This would be the final step to ensure the crown for his child.

When he almost reaches it, somebody steps in front of him.

Heading up, he catches the cold look of a young man who has the light-blued eyes and silver hair color.

"Hyunkel... You are the pure blood of Papunika. Only you... are deserved to receive the privilege Leona gives. All other foreigners are not worthy. Listen to me... Help me. Papunila under my reign would definitely offers you much more power..." The man grins.

"There's something you don't know, I led the devil army to destroy the whole capital of this kingdom years ago. On the contrary, Dai,Pop, Marm, Avan Sensei and all, they did nothing but saved Papunika, and they are the so-called unworthy foreigners. Your discrimination doesn't make any sense."

"You are that General of the Immortal force?" The man is freaked out.

"My sensei has just texted me. He says you have plan to trigger bombs in a lot of places in Papunika. This system that you are trying to activate is for the bomb stimulation. Am I right?"

"Don't kill me..."

"Leona can't hold on any longer. Pop, you and I are bringing her back to the palace for the healing. Larhalt and Hyunkel, arrest this guy alive." Furora forces herself to be calm. In her arms, she can feel Leona's body is already unmoving.

 **End Chapter 23.**


	26. Chapter 24 - Will You Marry Me?

**Chapter 24 - "Will You Marry Me?"**

"Many Things Are Allowed In Love."

...

The second firework performances is starting soon and will bring a continuous delightful atmosphere around major cities of Papunika. The night is still going on with celebrations among public and tourists. No one, even any media, is aware of bad moments certain people in the Royal Palace are going through.

"Her Majesty must have been in severe pain at the trauma site before she passed out." Physician to the Queen informs them. "However, this is a compound skull fracture, the skin is broken and causes the bone emerge. Injuries are not extended. There's no excessive leakage of cerebrospinal fluid from the nose and ears, very unlikely pressure is caused to the brain. Sirs and madams, you can rest assure... I don't see a requirement for surgery, we have done antibiotic treatment in addition to tetanus toxoid. Normally for compound fracture, the skull will heal itself after a while."

That's a relief for all. The Homi spell can't work on bone fracture. And earlier they had no ability to judge how bad the fracture was.

"Now we need to examine areas around any lacerations for bony stepoff that would indicate another possible underlying skull fracture. Shaving of hair is required to avoid missing fragments that are lodged in the long blonde hair of Her Majesty ... However, I'm afraid this action would disappoint Her Majesty. I'm grateful if you can give me an advice."

"Her Majesty would understand that health is more important than the outlook. Please do what is better for the examination." Larhalt says.

"Yes, Sir."

Major authorities of Papunika and organizing parties of the Birthday Parade are called for an urgent meeting in the night, including Larhalt and Hyunkel.

"Hyunkel, before that, you... may want to visit Marm." Furora runs to Hyunkel. She only realizes how absent-minded she is when seeing Hyunkel leaving the room. She should have informed the news to him hours ago.

Hyunkel doesn't question Fufu any further. The intuition tells him there is a bad reason behind the weird feeling he has been having during the night. He disappears at one with the teleportation.

"You forgot to tell him about Marm?" Avan is surprised at Fufu's unexpected ability of forgetting things.

"It was so bad of me. Avan, don't ask me to convey any message again. Oh... what happened to my memory?"

'It's ok dear, you need a rest, too." Avan hugs her. Now he knows, that's because Fufu is already exhausted after everything she experienced and saw tonight.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to ask you where Marm is." Hyunkel is back.

"She is at Avan's place. My apology, Huynkel."

"Please don't mind, sensei Furora." He manages to smile so Fufu would feel better.

...

"Ms Marm, we need to change the wound dressing for you." The nurses gently wake Marm up.

They are not informed why someone like Marm got into such injury. But being staff of the Royal Medical Household, they know to conduct the job perfectly while keeping no interest in any other matters.

Their patient has a severely opened wound on her shoulder, where she was stabbed multiple times. They need to help her change the wound dressing when the fluids soak through.

"Oh... Ok. What time is it? What is this sound?" Marm gets up easily. It has been difficult for her to be asleep recently.

"It's almost three in the morning now, Miss. There's a firework outside soon. Let me open the window for you."

"Thanks." Marm says softly. So she has slept for almost two hours. Seeing the lively nightlife outside windows, to Marm, peace and joy seem still remain in Papunika.

She lays on one side and has the nurse remove her robe to clean the wound. It causes more pains than her assumption.

"Would it leave a scar?" Marm asks.

It's funny how she managed to not get any serious injuries after those tremendous battles, and now being stabbed this badly by an unskilled knife user.

A silence is kept in the room, making Marm think negatively about the consequence the wound leaves on her.

However, the nurses are not answering Marm's question because of the sudden appearance of Hyunkel.

They have no idea who he is. But from the way he looks at their patient, they guess he must be in a relationship with her.

"A long term treatment would be required." Marm hears him saying and knows that he is coming close.

"It's not painful." She turns back and rest assures him.

"Ok. But just bite my finger if it is." He sits down next to her and gently kisses her cheek, places his hand on her lips. "Please carry on. Thank you for taking care of my _wife_." He tells the nurses. He doesn't normally express his affection in front of others but seeing Marm laying on the bed as a patient, he has a strong urge to love Marm more.

Marm's face turns red hearing it and he can notice. His facial expression remains calm while his body languages are gentle and sweet.

Marm won't bite his finger, it would hurt him. She is fine to endure the pain herself. She just holds his hand really tight.

As soon as they are alone in the room, Marm asks.

"Who is your wife?"

He doesn't answer, but he takes out a little velvet box.

When the box is open in his hands, Marm can see a ring placed nicely inside it. And when he starts taking the ring out, Marm is speechless.

He holds her hand in his and goes down on a bent knee. The ring is elevated between their eyes levels. She finds heat on her cheeks immediately. Her whole body seems trembling because of the delighted surprise.

"Marm, will you marry me?" He asks.

 _Marm, will you marry me?_

 _For years and years and many years later, she does not only remember these five words, but also his voice when he spoke them out, his eyes that showed the sincerity and expectations, his breaths that revealed a little bit of nervousness. She can not remember her own reaction. He says she cried a lot, but she nodded her head, so he took the answer as a Yes. Then he carefully wore the ring into her slender finger. Only at that moment, he could hear she said_ "Yes, Of course."

"Yes, of course." Marm murmurs. She is holding his hand tightly and looking at him with tearful eyes. "I love you." Her lips give a beautiful smile and she is going to cry again.

"Me too, I love you." He stands up and embraces her. He doesn't know the moment will be emotional. He doesn't know Marm will cry. Holding her in his arms, he hears Marm saying "I thought we need more time for marriage commitment, but I also dream of our family."

"I know you do." He smiles. His angel is so adorable.

"In my imagination, we will live in Romos as your plan, sometimes we travel because we both like traveling. We can have either boys or girls, their genders are not important. You are a good father, like your adoptive dad. But I have no idea yet about what type of mother I am." She tells him excitedly.

"How many children will we have?" He asks, being drawn into her imagination.

"Our first baby is so cute that we decide to have the second baby. But raising a baby is time consuming so we puts the plan on hold until probably three years later. Three, we have three babies."

"Ok. I agree." He nods and smiles. He places kisses on the her cheeks, her ears and trace down to her neck before locking her lips with a deep kiss. His Marm, he loves her so much, "Remember the promise to take care of me?"

"Yes..." She is hugging him tightly, breathing in his good smell. "You are taken care... well... especially on the bed..."

"Can't be happier." He nods. "The promise now becomes a lifetime one. Marm is taking care of me for the rest of our lives."

"Feel stressful now." Marm looks at him, slightly shakes her head but her hands never leave him.

"There is no chance to run away." He lifts her chin up and tells her.

"Don't want to run... just want to tie you over and over."

Hearing that, he smiles with satisfaction and sweetly kisses her again.

Outside the window, the firework performance has started and is looking splendid in the sky. It seems like a congratulation from Papunika.

"Are you planning for this timing because of the firework?" Unaware of what happens in the palace of Papunika, Marm enjoys the amazing view and asks him.

"It's a coincidence. Furora sensei asked me to visit you, otherwise, I thought you were sleeping."

"So if you didn't plan to propose tonight, what was the original timing?" She is curious.

"It'a supposed to happen after Leona's birthday."

"Then why tonight?"

"For another coincidence, I bring the ring along. And with the chemistry of tonight, I can't wait."

"You can't wait?" She giggles. "If I had known earlier, I couldn't wait, too. My ring fits me so well..." She who is over the moon now, leans forward and gives him a kiss on his cheek.

"I have been holding Marm's hands for long enough to get it right."

"When did you buy my ring?"

"Last week. Leona accompanied me."

"Leona... She never told me anything..."

"Yes, that's her." He strokes Marm's hair, pulls her down on the bed and sits next to her, keeping her whole body is his lab.

"Marm, at the moment Leona is in coma. But she should get up soon. So don't worry, ok?"

"Coma? What...happened in the East Tower?" The news is shocking to Marm.

"It's unknown. She was that badly injured when we came in. She fight with the guy alone."

"How long will she be in coma?"

"The physician to the Queen has confirmed the skull fracture doesn't affect brain functions. So they leave her in coma in purpose for the examinations and treatment. Let's hope it goes well and she will get up by tomorrow afternoon."

Marm leans into Hyunkel and tells him, "Hyunkel, I've seen Ella's real face. She shares a lot of similar traits from Leona. She has the same colour of hair, eyes and even the skin."

"That's why Leona mentions about a cousin before passing out."

"Ella owns a royal knife of Papunika, too."

"It's the knife she used to stab you, didn't she?" His poor Marm, the deep cut must cause so much pain until now. "Show me the wound."

"The wound is still dry, no worry." She confirms.

"Let me take a look."

She lets him loosen the robe and pull it down to her shoulder. It causes him pain to see the severe injury on Marm's skin. "How did it happen?" He asks softly.

"Ella hurt herself with the knife, so I rushed to heal her with the Homi spell. And I didn't expect her to stab me when I was trying to heal her. It was careless of me. I'd pay more attention next time."

 _Next time. Yes._ He knows there'd be next time. Because she is Marm and he is himself, they'd never stop involving in social matters.

"Ok, be careful next time."

She hugs him completely. "Thank you."

Feeling the softness of her body, he knows he can simply loosen the wrap more to undress her completely. He looks at Marm and is tempted.

"I wanna examine other parts. But I have a bloody meeting at the palace to attend."

"That's too bad. But the good news is other parts are fine." She smiles at him.

"How fine?" He breathes into her skin, and he drags her mouth into his before she replies anything. He lays her on the bed and deepens the kiss, unwilling to let it go.

He tastes so, so good, just like his smell. She is excited by the hardness rubbing on her, burning heat inside her. "Let me...show you..." She looks at him with a sweet gaze that fires his blood.

"Hi Marm, how are you?" Pop opens the door and asks out loud. Together with him are Menru, Fufu and Avan.

Hyunkel quickly pulls Marm to him and covers her fully with the blanket.

"Oops... Sorry." Fufu smiles.

"Shall we come back later?" Avan asks.

"Just a second, Sensei." Hyunkel fixes Marm's robe and moves out of the bed. "Please come in."

"Don't you have a meeting in the palace?" Pop teases Hyunkel.

"Everybody, we are engaged!" Marm tells them and showing her ring.

That creates an immediate cheering atmosphere in the room.

"Excellent!" Avan looks at them, full of delights.

"Congratulations!" Fufu walks to Marm and Hyunkel and hugs them.

"Congrats!" Pop and Meneru can't hide the happy feeling she has for her friends, too. They exchange hugs and Pop asks if the newly engaged would like to have a champagne.

"I wanna wait for Leona. She accompanied Hyunkel to buy the ring for me. The celebration can't be without her, and Larhalt.

"Yup. She is expected to get up tomorrow noon." Pop grins.

"Sure it was a big shopping for you on that day when you were with Leona, Hyunkel." The Queen of Carl knows everything.

"Yes..." Hyunkel admits. Marm doesn't know she also has the matching earrings, necklaces and bracelets, all were from the recommendations Hyunkel received from Leona.

"When is the wedding date? I'd be the wedding minister as usual. And I'd advise you guys on the menu." Avan is extremely excited.

Hyunkel and Marm burst into smiles. They share a same thiking. In the picture of their family, Avan sensei is going to take a major role in nurturing their children.

 **End Chapter 24.**


	27. Spin-off - A Favourite Memory

**Spin-off:** **A Favourite Memory**

 **PAPUNIKA - one week before the Queen's birthday.**

"Romos is the famous kingdom of gold. I'd recommend you to visit the premier jeweller in its national arcade."

Leona's voice is behind him. This is such a surprise. The Queen of Papunika seldom pays a visit here, Headquarter of Building Construction.

"Good afternoon. What brings you here, Your Majesty?" Hyunkel closes the catalogue that he is glancing through, giving Leona a look that is formal and friendly.

It's how he is to her, polite, respectful yet his friendliness and hidden sense of caring are always something more dominant. She is glad that he is one of very few seniors who are totally reliable for her.

"Trying to get used to the environment where you would leave soon."

"You have been around Larhalt for too frequent. You are having his sarcastic sentences."

"I'm not affected by him. In addition, I haven't met him for a month."

Her royal guardian has been away since last month. Leona knows quite exactly what is he busy with. Acquisitions, joint ventures, social engagements, conferences... are items of his schedules.

"He will be back soon, or whenever you need him, whichever earlier." Hyunkel smiles.

"I don't care about Mr Larhalt. To be honest, I'm here to visit the new team. I've just met them, seems all are still good, Hyunkel. Urban developments of Papunika are cores of my directions, this division is utmost important. Thanks for your leadership so far and your coaching for the new team."

"As long as you are the leader of Papunika, things are naturally fine regardless of changes. People across all divisions are motivated by you, and that has made my job easier."

"I know. Papunika can't live without me." She smiles cunningly. "Anyway, I pass by your office for a quick hello but guess what I catch, a wedding ring catalog?" She stares at the catalogue cover page. "You... You are going to propose Marm?" Leona realises.

"Don't tell Marm or anyone. If Marm has more time to think about my proposal, I'm not sure what kind of answer will I have."

"So at the moment you are sure Marm will say Yes?"

He nods.

His confidence has triggered in her the interest to make a bet about this special stage of her friends' relationship. However, she can't bet it with Pop or Menru, neither with Avan sensei or Fufu or whoever else. All of them may leak the information in one or other ways.

"Are jewellers in Romos better?" Hyunkel asks.

"Kind of, but only for gold."

"I'm not looking for gold. A platinum ring with gemstone fits her better. I'm looking for a good stone."

"Have you decided any jewellers?"

"Yes. If you don't mind, could you come along with me? Your advices are highly appreciated."

He doesn't know he has invited her to the shopping paradise of the one item she loves the most - gemstones.

Papunika, like all other kingdoms, owns a great deal of mines of gemstones. Practically speaking, Leona is the owner of all gemstones mines in the country. She is in fact the biggest gemstones collector in the world.

Leona agrees without hesitation. "Which jeweller have you selected?"

"Piaget Wilton, of Carl."

"You go for the Carl perfection and you are a watch collector, aren't you?" Leona looks at him, suspecting.

Piaget Wilton delivers the perfection of Carl craftsmanship through its high-end jewellery and watch collection. Originated from the small village of La Cox Au Feex, Carl kingdom, each gemstone from this jeweller is selected for one of its designs are tested according to stringent in-house guidelines.

In addition, Hyunkel knows it's meaningful for Marm to wear the engagement ring made in the country of her origin. That's another reason he chooses the jeweller from Carl.

Leona takes Hyunkel to Piaget Wilton at Bal Harbour. It's her favourite location and she is not required to make any appointment.

Leona doesn't reveal her identity in the public, especially after her working hours. Her work-life balance system remains the same. After the morning, she is back to be Leona with no monarchy status. As she was recognised by the media when she appeared in Titika too often months ago, now she needs a wig to disguise herself.

Soon after the arrival, Leona finds Hyunkel the pickiest customer on earth when it comes to Marm's engagement ring. He knows very well what he is looking for and is not accepting anything less.

However, he remains a polite and humble attitude talking to the jeweller manager and associates, as if he is making friends with them. His appearances gain the instant favour, either from female or male staff. Seeing how cleverly he deals with the transaction, Leona is more justified why diplomats of Papunika have been missing him in those foreign affairs dinners and functions. She now starts having a weird idea that Emmi may suit him better than Marm.

He is not dealing for the price. He is dealing for the best stones for Marm's ring. No staff in Piaget Wilton can surpass Leona in knowledge about gemstones so in the end, they are happy to offer a rare pink diamond which is supposed to be reserved for the annual auction. Hyunkel can't wait for the auction. He would like to propose Marm as soon as next week, after Leona's birthday and right before they move to Romos.

The sale team of the premier jeweller is happy to serve a generous and deserving customer. In addition, they do learn a lot from his beautiful friend about gemstones. They are only curious about the lucky woman who is going to receive the ring, because obviously the beautiful lady accompanying their client looks more of a friend to him rather than his partner.

"This size would be it." Hyunkel confirms. He plays with Marm's fingers too frequently to get the size wrong.

So he has a customised ring for Marm. When the ring design is determined, Leona takes him around the jeweller and he ends up getting interested in more items for his fiancée. Leona is in love with all sophisticated and qualified pieces of jewellery and she can inspire Hyunkel easily. Leona has given him pictures of how Marm will look with the products. Naturally he is happy with all imaginations about Marm in his mind and it fastens the purchase decision. The sales team is blissfully delighted.

"She has all criteria of the best sale person I've ever known" The manager whispers to his staff about Leona.

"Sir, do you really think she would ever need to take the sale jobs?"

"Hmm.. No, based on the jewellery she is wearing on herself. She doesn't show off a lot, but kids, her earrings are of natural emeralds and diamonds. You don't normally see people wearing them on a daily basis."

The manager is right about the gemstones but is wrong about Leona's sales job. Leona is a very efficient sales person in Papunika. She sales all products, services and investment opportunities for Papunika. She gains a lot of trading deals and agreements for the country. That's her favourite part to be the Queen of Papunika, too.

...

"So how much did you spend in total?" Leona asks Hyunkel when they have a drink in a rooftop bar, enjoying the beautiful sunset after a successful shopping.

"Almost equal to half of my house." He estimates and has a sip of wine. It seems like he doesn't bother much. He had a good time and is happy with the purchases.

Leona laughs and gives him a high five. "I bet you would do more shopping. You are a natural shopper, Hyunkel."

"I do shop. Construction materials, lands, buildings, factories." He says. "But this is the first time I've shopped something important for Marm."

"We have spent the whole afternoon shopping for her. Even with our friendship I will start getting jealous." She says.

"Ok. I'd better don't upset our good friend." He smiles. He is sensitive to people's feeling and that makes him very gentle to ladies.

He is full of attractiveness that invites both indecent challenges and decent attentions. Leona has a other sip of wine and secretly wishes her dear Emmi to get over him soon, very and really soon. Because all of his attractiveness is now for Marm only.

"This is a small gift for the kindness you give to Marm and me." He says and gives Leona a sophisticated box. From a glance she notices it's from Piaget Wilton, too.

Leona smiles at the kind gesture of him, "When did you buy it? You don't have to do this, you know?"

"Open it, I think you will like the item."

"Of course I will like it." Leona confirms. And when she carefully opens the box, she is stunned by the platinum and gold brooch, with cushion-cut emerald and round brilliant diamonds, in the intricate design of a kookaburr, the signature bird of Papunika.

"My god, it's perfect. As I said, you are just the natural shopper." She can't hide how pleased she is.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I do. Thank you very much." She smiles beautifully. She really hope someone as generous and gentle to ladies as him can propose successfully.

"You know, normally, men are on the knee when doing the wedding proposal. It makes them look more sincere and hence, the success rate is higher." She tells him.

"I've read of that. I guess I'd need more practices." He is honest to share. He definitely doesn't want to look clumsy when proposing Marm. "Is there anything you know Marm would particularly like?"

"I think you have very much of what she likes." Leona giggles. "I don't think she will place importance on flowers or ambience. Ah, to increase the chance I think you can..." And then she stops, knowing there should be a limit of what to share and what not.

"What can I...?" He asks, waiting for the tip.

"I think you can... dress properly, that's it." She smiles.

"Sure. That you don't have to worry." He is so laid back.

Her real tip is, you can go topless. Marm is crazy about your body. But no. Marm would kill her.

"And your birthday is coming soon. Is there anything you are looking forward to?" He asks. But on behalf of someone else. Someone now is either in Romos or Benga to increase the fortune to match with his Queen.

"My birthday wish list is long." Leona looks dreaming. "But I'd go easy for you and Marm."

"What do you have for us?"

"I want my favourite memory from you both. One memory that I would like to miss the most is that Marm and you exchanging the vow. Could I have that birthday gift?" She asks Hyunkel.

Her eyes are coloured by the sky blue and her lips are made of the pinky cherry. Her voice is like the rhythm of spring and her thinking is always unpredictable. That's his friend Leona. Hyunkel smiles and tells her, "You have asked for probably the best memory of my life, but of course we hope to give you a beautiful one of your own."

"Ok. A surprise is always what I like." She reveals.

 **End Spin-off - A Favourite Memory.**


	28. Chap 25 - In The Rain Of Ramerion Spell

**Chapter 25 - Rhythm In The Rain Of Ramerion Spell**

As the original plan, Leona would attend the ceremony and carry the inspections of her troops, before leading her Guards in the parade from the City Hall down to the Palace. Once at the Palace, she would take the salute and guns are fired at the West Tower and the Harbour. Finally she would join leading members of the government on the Palace balcony to watch the national armed force band's performance together with the public. The whole event requires Leona's participation for at least two hours: From ten o'clock in the morning until twelve o'clock in the afternoon.

However, according to the royal physicians, Leona is not likely to make it. The Queen is expected to be in coma until next day afternoon.

Up to this stage, it's agreed in the meeting of major Papunika authorities that the parade can't be cancelled. Millions of people are eyeing on it. This is for the reputation of Papunika. Leaders of other kingdoms have already arrived the country to attend the birthday banquet celebration of Her Majesty.

"We can delay the parade until the Queen is awaked." Marlin suggests. She is not fully recovered, but is fine enough to attend the meeting.

"Even though, what is a proper reason to delay the parade without causing any suspects?"

"It's possible to create a rain during the original scheduled time. This may not be the best reason but at least it seems natural." Larhalf says.

Many are looking at him, wondering how may the rain come. Papunika is in the month of October. There has never been any heavy rain around this period of time.

"Pop, a good friend of Her Majesty, would be able to help." Larhalt explains.

In fact, he can manage the rain himself, but he doesn't want to reveal the ability of conducting dark magic. Pop, on the contrary, is able to cast the Ramerion spell with no dark power involved and authorities of Papunika knows his magical capability well enough.

"That's right." They agree.

"This can be the way. So the parade would start at half past three instead, does everyone agree? Her Majesty should be awaked by then, am I right? We can't delay it any further because the whole event would take two hours." General of the Armed Force questions.

"Should be. However, the royal physician also advised that our Queen would have to rest. Eventually she may still be too ill to attend the event."

Would Leona be able to make it? For the personal relationship, Larhalt just wants her to take a full rest. However, he knows she will be determined do what she has to do as a Queen of Papunika.

It's an event of two hours or slightly more. He knows she would want to fulfil her role for the beloved country as soon as she is awoke. An idea comes to his mind and it has helped him to decide what should be done.

"I don't think anyone can stop Her Majesty to attend the event once she is conscious. I'd support her with all my abilities." He emphasises to every leading authorities of Papunika at the meeting.

"I'm with Larhalt." Apollo says. "Her Majesty places the country's well-being on top priority. I've witnessed her incredible strength many times. I believe she would like to make it again."

"But we have heard about the skull fracture. People, being senior members of the government, we strongly concern about health of our Queen. Everybody needs a rest after such injury. Don't forget our Queen would only turn twenty tomorrow. And she is as delicate as a flower." The head of Leona's counselling team slowly speaks up.

"In my opinion we should see the Queen's condition when she is awaked. For advanced preparation incase she is fine to attend the event, we need to arrange the carriage for Her Majesty in stead of her riding on the horseback as the original plan. The Royal Guardian and probably two authorities who know Homi spell should accompany her in the carriage." Hyunkel says.

As a friend he doesn't support the idea to have Leona participate in the Parade and he is surprised when Larhalt makes such a decision. But this is a matter of the kingdom, he knows Leona has put lots of efforts to maintain Papunika's reputation and harmony. A rumour may be created if Leona is absent from the event. Most government members have no choice but to expect Leona to be strong enough and overcome those two hours. In Hyunkel's mind, he is sure Leona would agree to take part in.

"Ok. We would arrange the needful. I just hope Her Majesty is fine." The head of Papunika Armed Force nods with agreement.

"In case Her Majesty is not well enough to join the parade, we could suggest her to show up in the Palace balcony when the parade arrives and enjoy performances of the Armed Force band. That would shorten her attendance to about half an hour." Minister of the Foreign Affairs, madam Ryi, recommends. She is an intellectual lady at the age of forties and has been working in the government of Papunika for more than a decade. "Ladies and gentlemen, please don't forget that Her Majesty needs to attend the banquet in the evening. Leaders of other kingdoms would show up at this function and Her Majesty places it an important opportunity for foreign relationships development." Ryi continues.

"We should also ask if Her Majesty would like to attend this banquet. Foreign relationship is not that important. Our Papunika is a strong nation on our own." The senior counsellor disagrees.

"Certainly, Your Excellence." Madam Ryi tries to control the temper. She knows her Queen would not want to miss the banquet.

"We shall end the meeting here and put into actions. No matter what Her Majesty's condition is, the parade and the banquet are still going on. We would do our best at both events to meet the Queen's expectation." Apollo says.

"That's a wrap. Yes, let's do our best, everybody." The senior counsellor concludes the meeting.

Seeing Larhalt and Hyunkel heading to the Royal Medical Household, madam Ryi follows them.

"Larhalt, don't tell me you are going to visit Her Majesty now." She questions.

Madam Ryi has a good relationship with Hyunkel and Larhalt after several functions they attend together. In general, the minister of Papunika's Foreign Affairs places high importance on the presentation and can't stand seeing Larhalt in his current outfit.

She doesn't know exactly what Her Majesty and the Royal Guardian have just gone through, but for the Queen to be in Special Caring Unit and he in an outfit with blood stains, nothing good might have happened.

"Yes, I am." Larhalt replies. He wonders what seems wrong with this.

"Perhaps you would consider to take a shower and change your outfit first? Such a waste to look handsome and dress improperly, especially when visiting Her Majesty." Ryi says, eyeing on the young man who is always well-dressed and makes the team look good in foreign affairs events. He even makes a very good match to the Queen when standing next to Her Majesty. This is the first time madam Ryi has ever seen Larahlt in such state. Hyunkel, however, still looks attractive. Ryin tries to not look at Hyunkel for any longer.

"Right... Thanks for reminding." Larhalt agrees.

"You could use the thermal bath here, Larhalt. I'd ask the staff to prepare new clothes for you." Marlin overhears the conversation and comes to them.

"Great." He smiles at her.

"Ok. See you all at the dinner tomorrow." Madam Ryi makes a move.

...

"I don't intend to propose Leona to join anything. I'm not sure if she agrees with my idea, will talk to her when she gets up." Larhalt tells Hyunkel when he is taking a shower at the royal bathhouse. He rejects to use the thermal bath as he _has no time_ _for it._

The place, which looks similar to the bathhouse of the underground castle, is drawing back some memories in Hyunkel's mind.

"Are you listening?" Larhalt asks.

"Can't hear anything properly because of the running water."

After a short while, Larhalt steps out of the shower with a towel covered his lower body. He is wiping his wet hair with another towel and tells Hyunkel, "I said I don't propose Leona to take part in the event. In fact she can just rest. Nobody can notice her absence."

"How?"

However, seeing Larhalt's facial expression, Hyunkel guesses he knows what the plan is. "I see." He says merely.

And that makes Larhalt quite embarrassed, "Only with her permission, of course."

"It's ok. Just let me know what to do for the support."

Larhalt says nothing further. The shower has refreshed him. Just like Pop and Hyunkel, he has been staying up for almost thirty hours. However, he is not going back to his comfortable bed at home, he is guarding Leona tonight.

"Are Marm and the baby fine?" He asks.

"Both of them are fine. I have something to announce Leona and you." A smile comes when Hyunkel is asked about his little family.

"You successfully have Marm engaged to you , haven't you?" Larhalt bursts into the laugh.

"Yes, she agrees just an hour ago."

"Congrats! This kind of happiness suits you both better than the unmarried idea."

"Absolutely."

"Do you have hair gel here, by any chance?" Larhalt asks. He can't stand looking at himself in the mirror with the girly hairstyle.

"Why don't you just cut the hair short?" It's another way to answer No Hair Gel.

"Good idea. I may consider."

...

They walk into Leona's room with extreme care and quietness. There are guards outside for the security and the royal medical team is on call the whole time to take care of the Queen. The examination report looks good. Nothing seems trouble Leona to get up by tomorrow afternoon.

Seeing Leona laying on the bed with her eyes closed, her breath soft and her hair no longer visible, pains start spreading inside him. Larhalt still remembers Leona's beautiful long blonde hair and how her energy inspired people just hours ago. He is grateful that the Queen will get up soon, _she has to_.

He stand stills when Hyunkel walks to Leona's bedside. He hears his friend saying, "Marm has said Yes. My proposal is successful. We can't wait to celebrate the news with you. Get up tomorrow, ok?"

...

After Hyunkel has left the medical household for hours, Larhalt is still staying awake next to Leona's bed.

The morning is coming soon and Papunika is still in peace, that can be a success they achieve tonight. He is glad that when Leona's awaked, she would see a good morning, no, a good afternoon of Papunika.

Suddenly, it starts raining heavily.

It catches Larhalt's attention. It's weird to have a natural rain at the time being, he guesses it should be Pop who is doing the practice. Just like him, many friends are caring for Leona. One thing he can ensure Leona is that she will never be alone.

Looking at the heavy rain falling outside the windows, memory brings him back to the first afternoon he spent with Leona in Titika. To be exact, it was outside a closed bookshop of Titika and they were there to escape the rain. It was almost half a year ago and yet to him, everything stays clearly in his mind. The rain on that day has brought them closer to each other. And the rain of tomorrow would help them going through the difficulty.

 _After the rain, you will see a beautiful sky of Papunika and the cheerfulness of your people. Everything is perfectly fine and waiting for you to get up, Leona. Let do your best._ He tells her. His hands move to hers and keep them inside, giving her warmth and his love.

For the first time he realises the existence of such a beautiful and peaceful feeling, blended in a harmony with the rhythm of the rain.

He loves her.

...

In the back yard of Avan's mansion, it's true that Pop is practicing the Ramerion, a spell that allows him to manipulate the weather.

"Pop, it seems fine, doesn't it?" Menruru asks him.

"Menru? I'm just practicing a spell that I haven't used for a long time. No worry, all are fine." He walks to Menruru.

"Is it the weather spell? I can never imagine my husband can call the rain. You are so cool, Pop." She smiles and holds the umbrella up to cover both of them. Pop has created such a heavy rain, but in the back yard here where many nice plants are gathering, the rain drops make up such a good melody.

"Not a big deal, honey." Pop giggles, "all my energy was almost dripped out the first time I used the spell. But now I seem to get really better. Menru, I will use this spell tomorrow as per the request of Papunika's government. They want me to manipulate the rain so they can delay the parade for several hours. It sounds important so I can't allow any chance of failure."

"I see. You are so responsible, Pop."

"Yes, that's me." He looks proud and walks her back into Avan's mansion, carrying the umbrella for her. "Continue the sleep. I'm done with the practice now. You know, it took me more than a week to nail it years ago, when I practiced with Dai. And it was my idea to use this spell to save Marm from Hyunkel."

"Why did you have to save Marm from Hyunkel?" Menruru looks at her husband with questioning eyes.

"Well, she was captured by him at the underground castle, where his so-called immortal army based then. Dai and I wanted to rescue Marm as soon as possible but there were many trainings and practices required at that time, so it took us approximately ten days until we came."

"She must have felt bad to be captured like a prisoner."

"Probably. But now knowing Hyunkel, I think he didn't treat her badly back then."

 **End Chapter 25 -** **Rhythm In The Rain Of Ramerion Spell.**


	29. Chapter 26 - When The Sunshine Is Back

**Chapter 26 - When The Sunshine Is Back**

The rain created by Pop has covered the whole sky of Papunika's capital since early morning. Regardless of the announcement about the parade being postponed, crowds are still still gathering along main stteets to wait for the event.

Menuru and friends have been worrying if Pop can remain the spell until afternoon, because it consumes such a huge power from him. But now hearing the news from Furora, Menru is so happy. The news can cheer Pop up, definitely. She looks outside the window and sees such a beautiful October in the rain.

It is because, Leona has got up.

Menru knows this is not only a great news to all of them, it also motivates Pop to keep going well on the spell and he doesn't have to extend the magic cast.

...

In the Royal Medical Household, inside Papunika palace, the first thing Leona asks:

 _"What time is this?"_

The second thing she asks, is to call up an urgent meeting with leaders of major authorities. Apolo immediately carries the order.

The third thing she asks, is about her current condition.

Physician to the Queen is relieved that Leona doesn't question about her hair.

When he is going to leave the room, he hears the Queen screaming.

"My Queen, calm down." He quickly runs back to her bed.

"Why?" She asks. Leona looks like having her heart broken into pieces. Her eyes can tell a millions dismays to the fact that her precious golden hair is gone.

"Your Majesty, we needed to examine any possible underlying skull fracture. The regretful action is required to avoid missing fragments that are lodged in the long beautiful hair."

"Required? Which means it's not compulsory?"

"No, it's not... Your Majesty. But this is the best way that we recommend. We have consulted with the sensei and friends of Your Majesty. Your health is very important, My Queen..." The Physician looks at Larhat and Marlin, seeking for helps.

"The Physician is right, we can't afford any possibility of the hidden fracture." Larhalt is standing by the side of her bed, there is a gentleness in his voice.

Leona turns to him slowly and carefully. Her neck is kept by the cervical collar. It's not easy to move the eyesight around so she has not seen him yet, although she knows he is here together with Marlin, just by different side of her bed.

"You know it's gonna take..." Leona tends to argue with him. However, the moment her eyes catch his image, her breath is taken away.

His hair is shorter, reveals more of his strong neck and the large shoulder.

Suddenly he has a change in his appearance that blows her mind away. He looks very manly and Leona has already forgotten what she tended to argue with him.

"My sincere apology, Your Majesty. I take full responsibility."

"No problem." Leona recklessly answers the Physician when he bows to her. "And, thank you for every effort of your team during last night."

"It's our honor, Your Majesty. We are still following up on your condition closely. Please rest well and don't worry, My Queen."

When the Physician has left the room, Leona asks, "Larhalt, what happened to your hair?"

"Your Majesty, I helped him on that." Standing next to the other side of the Queen's bed, Marlin eagerly tells her.

Seeing Larhalt having an eye contact with Marlin, Leona can't stop herself from pinching him with an instant rising jealousy. But with very low energy remained, she doesn't causes him any pains.

"Your Majesty, everybody is on the way. Would you like the meeting to be in another room?" Apolo is back.

"Yes. Please arrange, Marlin, help Apolo and inform me when everybody arrives."

...

"You must have felt very happy." Leona says when they are alone in the room.

"Not as what you think. I do feel pity for your hair." He admits. Her golden hair is beautiful and adds on to her gorgeousness. "You will have your hair grow long again. Not sure how would you lady take this but in my thinking, no physical traits is more important your health."

"I mean, you are happy when Marlin helps you with the haircut, aren't you?"

And she pinches his arm again.

"It doesn't hurt but I guess you are not happy with my new haircut?"

"No."

Seeing Leona keeping quite with her eyes looking down, showing the long and curly eyelashes with the straight nose and a beautiful face shape, her slender neck is now kept in the brace and her head is covered by a medical cap, bruises around her slim arms, all end up forming a strong desire in his to embrace her.

"Then what is your suggestion?"

His body is firm and warm. Leona can feel that he is completely hugging her.

"No suggestion. Ask Marlin." Leona stays in his embrace, comfortably leaning on his shoulder.

"But I barely know Marlin."

"Of course." Leona bursts into a smile and looks into his eyes, "In fact, you with short hair are sexier."

"There's even a comparison."

He feels it indeed adorable of her. One consistent thing about Leona and himself is that most of the time, he won't understand what has he done that triggers her anger. However, she is very lovely when she is having a temper and her temper is gone as fast as it arrives, all _the time._

Still holding her in his arms, he asks, "Can you not attending the Parade?"

"I'm fine to attend the event."

Her stubbornness doesn't surprises him.

His fingers gently moves across the bruises along her arms. "Do they hurt?"

"Yes... and they look ugly."

"Bare with this for a short while, they will be recovered naturally."

"Could you heal them for me? Unlike some of our friends, I don't have any problem with dark power." Leona asks.

What she requests is what he used to think of. He is very tempted to transfer all her injuries and pains to him, but this would cause Leona being affected by dark magic for the rest of her life, something he never wants to happen.

"There is no guarantee your body can take it." Larhalt replies. He is still looking at all injuries that are almost filled up her arms, he feels very, very bad. "I'm sorry. It shouldn't have happened this way."

"Don't be." She gently squeezes his hands. "Many people have tried to kill me since I was born, and I'm a survivor."

"Nobody is dare to kill you any longer. I promise."

"Then we should do this."

And Leona teaches him the promise hand signs.

As their fingers are entwining and they keep looking at each other, they don't notice what is happening around them, for example, they don't notice that Marlin and Apolo have been waiting outside the room, patiently looking for a right time to disturb and announce that the meeting is ready.

...

Top authorities of Papunika immediately turns into a formal silence, all stand up from their positions when the Queen enters the room together with Larhalt, Marlin and Apolo.

Seated on a specialised wheelchair, the Queen gives eye contacts to each of them. "Please sit down, everyone." There is a gleam of joy in her eyes that warm their hearts. She is Queen Leona of Papunika, even her current health condition is not able to fade away the fact that to them, she is always a courageous and inspirational leader.

"Your Majesty... How are you?"

"Compound skull fractures, blood lost and other minor physical injuries that pain my whole body. But fortunately, my brain is still working." Leona replies as if her wound is not severe, although pain killers have been injected to her body. Straightforwardly, she questions about her highest concern, "What's going on with the Parade?"

"Everything is going well, Your Majesty. It has been raining since morning but the rain is within our plan. Leaders from other kingdom are taken care by Ministry of Foreign Affairs. About the Birthday Parade, all are set ready to take place at three thirty this afternoon. Public and media are enthusiastic about the event. And national security is at highest alert. The good news is, everything has been in harmony since last night." Mr Seng, a secretary of the senior council, reports to Leona on behalf of all top authorities attending the meeting.

"I appreciate the calmness and synergy of everybody here. You own such a high level of professionalism and teamwork, I'm indeed proud." Leona smiles.

"Today is always a happiest day of our kingdom, Your Majesty, today of every year. Long live our Queen!" The eldest member of Papunika senior council says.

He is very delighted seeing the Queen awaked.

He has been serving the royal family of Papunika for three generations and Queen Leona is the brightest leader he has ever seen. It's his dream come true when the Queen becomes more and more mature, more and more powerful, although her directions are conflicting to Papunika's traditional values sometimes.

"Long live our Queen!" Everyone repeats after him, even modernists like Marlin, Apolo.

This is not the first time Larhalt accompanying Leona to meetings, but this is a meeting where he witnesses the clearest image of Leona as Papunika's Queen, a powerful image that is normally hidden behind her silent courage. She doesn't have to show if off, her people recognise it for her.

"Thank you..." Leona says. "I promise to take good care of myself."

"Your Majesty, when your were unconscious, there has been a discussion about your participation to the Parade. What is your decision?" The Comrade of Papunika Defence Force asks.

"I won't decide."

Contrary to the surprise of everybody, Leona is laid back. "What are your points of views? If you would like me to attend, I would attend. If you would like me to rest, I would do so. Today is the day of everyone in Papunika. But bare this in mind, I'm totally fine to attend the event."

Members of the meeting look at each other, they don't know most of them are sharing a similar view.

"Let's vote, the majority will win." The Queen decides. "Who would like me to attend the Parade?"

No hand is up.

Without communicating to each other, all members of the meeting reach the same agreement just based on the common love they have for the Queen. Everybody burst into the laughs, even Leona.

"So nobody welcomes me to the Parade?" Leona teases them.

"Your Majesty, I used to think that you presence means everything to the Parade and the image of Papunika. But when meeting you, I can't lie to myself that deep in the thought, nothing is more important than the health of our Queen. And I believe I'm speaking this on behalf of everyone here. With Your Majesty's inspiration and delegation, we are good to be on our own. We can ensure you the Parade this year is a successful one." The eldest member of the Senior Council says.

"Well-said, Sir." The meeting members agree.

"Thanks for all goodwills. I'm sure the public is going to enjoy a great event." Leona nods with agreement. "I would be in the palace balcony to enjoy the musical performance with the public. And I'm attending the banquet tonight. Make sure each of you are bringing along your beloved partner, I look forward to celebrating my official birthday with you."

And the meeting ends in the happiness of everybody.

"Still, please take more rest, Leona." Hyunkel walks to her.

"Sure I will." She looks at his light blue eyes, "Mister, you have a good news to share."

Madam Ryi and several people can hear Hyunkel telling the Queen, "Yes. Marm accepts my proposal."

"Awww... So sweet of you guys... Congrats!" Leona is so delighted.

"Thank you... Please take a good rest and make it to our engagement party."

"I'd certainly make it. Have you fixed the wedding day?" Leona is hugging Hyunkel and asking him excitedly.

"Hyunkel, you are getting married?" Most members of the meeting are surprised by the sudden news, although it's understandable that someone like him is not likely to stay available for long.

"Congrats, Hyunkel." They comes and shake hands with him, including Marlin and Apolo.

"When could we have the honour to meet the lucky lady?"

...

"When is the wedding day?" Leona repeats the question to Marm over the phone.

"The day is not fixed, Hyunkel and I want to focus on getting everything ready for the baby first. So we only think of an engagement party as at now."

"I see. Yes, it makes sense. I bet you want to look perfect in the wedding gown."

Marm is laughing from the other side of the line. "I have many things to share with you and Menruru. Wait until you get better. By the way, are you really fine to attend the banquet in the evening?"

"I'm fine. How about you?"

"Should be..." Marm is reluctant. Her wound is still bleeding. Marm is wondering how does Leona handle such a more serious injury so well. "I'll be there. Just because today is your birthday."

"Today is my official birthday. My real birthday is in another month."

"? How come you have two birthdays?"

"It's another long story. Anyway, if you are coming tonight, be ready to meet many officers in my government who are very interested in knowing you."

"Why are they interested in me?"

"In the meeting just now, everybody has known about your engagement. Your future husband is their good friend. He also invited them to the engagement party."

"Oh, did he?" Marm giggles.

"Yes... Talk to you tonight. I have another conversation now." Leona tells Marm when seeing Marlin and Madam Ryi walking into her room.

"See you, take care."

Just when she hangs up the phone, she gets out of the bed and looks at herself in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, Marm reaches out to call the nurse.

...

Marlin closes the door carefully and takes a seat next to Madam Ryi, they guess there must be some specific orders that the Queen would like to give.

"Your Majesty, how may we assist you?"

"Thanks for coming back, ladies... This is not about work. I'm calling you for something rather personal." Leona says. "Because during the meeting, I notice the way you look at Larhalt is not as usual."

Madam Ryi and Marlin look at each other. They wonder what does the Queen mean but they dare not interrupt Leona.

"I know he looks a bit different with his new haircut. Although I never discourage anyone to run away from their true feelings, but knowing Larhalt, I must warn you ladies to stay away from him, don't fall in love with him." Leona says, each and every of her words coming out clearly, but definitely blood is rushing to her face.

"I understand. Thanks for your... advice and your concern, Your Majesty." Ryi says.

"Your Majesty, but he is not committed to any relationship." Marlin questions.

"Well, I...heard he is going to. So, you'd better don't involve yourself in his personal life." The Queen explains.

...

"Why do you keep smiling alone, Marlin?" Madam Ryi asks when they walking out of the Royal Medical Household.

"Nothing special, I'm just happy that the sunshine is back."

Marlin looks at the clear blue sky and breathes in the fresh air. The day is even more beautiful after the rain.

"Yes, you are right. Even you look different now. During previous days, you ignored whenever I said Hello. Don't be so stressful." The Minister of Foreign Affairs tells Marlin.

"I ignored you?" _That was Ella._ Marlin realises. "From now on, please inform Her Majesty about my differences if you find out any, ok?"

"Is it necessary? Why should we bother Her Majesty with every matter." Ryi seems reluctant. "By the way, why does Her Majesty think I may fall in love with Larhalt?"

"Perhaps she is just being cautious. But Her Majesty is serious, we must remain a distance from the him." _He can be our King in the future._ Marlin smiles again, she can read the Queen's heart.

"Do you mean Her Majesty has some problems with Larhalt?"

"Nooooo. Anyway, believe me, please listen to our Queen. I know Her Majesty so well. This is something she takes seriously."

 **End Chapter 26**


	30. Chapter 27 - Beginning Of An End

" _When the wind of changes blows, somebody build walls, while others will build windmills."_

 **Chapter 27 - Beginning Of An End.**

"It's time."

Standing next to Leona's throne, Larhalt whispers to her when realising her signs of exhaustion. The party has been going on for hours, he knows Leona's energy starts dropping down.

Leona is breathtaking in the royal outfit made of a perfect combination of gold and turquoise silk. She is wearing a diamond head-dress with matching earring. The golden hair is not showed as usual, but every angle of her is definitely flawless and gorgeous.

Leona and her counterparts of different countries have a mutual love for music and dance. In tonight's birthday banquet, the bonding goes well when they join the dance group together and totally enjoy the night.

Leaders of all kingdoms have no idea that the makeup and the designed outfit has carefully hidden bruises across Leona's body. The fact that the Queen of Papunika can stand here, tonight, at the royal banquet, to celebrate her birthday is efforts of pain killer being injected earlier and heal spells that she places on herself.

"No. I have been waiting for a song. It's coming soon." She tells him.

"What song is it?"

"You'll know."

He nods and gently, he caresses her face. The intimacy happens without notice of anybody. Leona looks at him and they smile at each other. She reaches out for his hand and has him hold hers.

They are among many people but they would keeping hold each other's hand this way. Nothing can matter.

"Hey, it's this one. Let's dance." She asks him when the melody arrives. It's the song they danced together at Pop and Menru's rehearsal dinner.

He bursts into smiles. He is surprised that she remembers this song. Because she was deadly drunk that night. "Certainly, Your Majesty."

And that's how all guests witness an unpredictable relationship.

From the throne, the Queen is holding hand with the Royal Guardian and they are walking down to the dance floor. Leona and Larhalt don't seem to bother the curiosity of anybody in the banquet. When she leans into him and has his arms around her, when they move naturally with the loving melody, the chemistry between them is very obvious. Those who are close to Leona and Larhalt can't take this as a normal dance.

"How unusual this is for Her Majesty." Papunika's senior counsellors are eyeing carefully on the dance floor. Ministers of different divisions and other authorities are watching the situation with their breaths hold in. On the contrary, majority of foreign guests are fascinated.

The moment is genuinely sweet to witness.

Meanwhile, not many friends take this a surprise.

"Does this mean anything?" Pop also eyes on the danve floor and asks Marm.

"If no, why do you think Leona and Larhalt choose this occasion to dance together?"

Pop merely nods and can't give further comments. Definitely this is something too big for Papunika.

He then notices Marm's eyes are shining and she is definitely amused, not at Leona and Larhalt, but at something else. "Hey, the baby is moving, he is kicking me!"

"No. No baby, please." Pop is scared.

Marm ignores him and places his hand on her tummy. "You will agree that my baby is very cute. Feel it."

Reluctantly, he listens to her. And very shortly he does feel the difference.

"Is this liltle guy crawling inside you or what?" Pop looks at Marm with a big surprise.

"He is very active." Marm feels so proud.

She smiles seeing Hyunkel and Menru coming back their table. Both were kept in the conversation between King Benga and King Teran.

"Our baby is so naughty tonight." She tells Hyunkel the moment he walks to her and kisses her cheeks. Looks like he is having a great time tonight. Hyunkel is definitely busy talking to different groups of reference in this banquet. But whenever they catch each other's eyes, there is a shared feeling of togetherness. The night is fun yet formal. However, with Marm being around, Hyunkel does feel a delighted difference.

"Don't create troubles to mom." He tells his kid.

Based on experience, all seniors confirm their baby is a boy. Marm asked him once if he expects a son or a daughter and he teased her, "All are fine. But I only wanted Marm in the beginning."

The truth is, he is very grateful to Marm. Carrying the baby for him at such a young age, Marm sacrifices lots of freedom.

"Is it fine for Leona and Larhalt to express their affection this way?" Marm asks him.

What he can say, is that, when the wind of changes blows, somebody build walls, while others will build windmills.

"But once they realise Larhalt's power in the economic world, majority will build windmills." Hyunkel rest assures Marm.

"See the dance floor, they look so nice!" Menruru is very fond of arts and beautiful couples.

"Perhaps we should join them, what do you think?" Pop holds her hand and has her sit down next to him.

He is almost sure that Menru will agree. Because dancing is Menru's second love, ranked after him.

However, out of his expectation, he suddenly hears Menru complaining, "Sometimes, I dont like having the ability to see future." After the complain, Menru even takes a sip of alcohol drink and sighs.

"? Did the King of Teran and Benga trouble her again?" Pop questions Hyunkel with a worry.

"Not really. It was just a casual conversation we had with both kings about the upcoming race."

"Forget it, Menruru. Let's join them in the dance floor and have fun!" Her husband is trying to cheer her up.

Whenever Menru sees what she doesn't want to see for a future, her mood would be affected. Fortunately, Pop always manages to drag her back to the present. If Menru can forfeit this so-called gifted ability, she is so willing to. Because Menru feels very guilty to foresee a bad future while being unable to change anything.

A second ago, Menru looked at Leona and Larhalt with admiration. She was so tempted to ask Pop to join the dance floor. Then in a blink of eyes, future of both friends suddenly came across her mind. That is a future she never wants to happen.

 **End Chapter 27.**


	31. Chapter 28 - The Underground Castle (1)

**Chapter 28: The Underground Castle (I)**

"Don't go for the second round without me." Friends all hear what Leona reminds when she passing by them to head back to the palace.

As a tradition, the Queen will be the first one to leave the party, guests can decide to follow or stay to enjoy the night till late.

"I bet she will fall asleep the moment she is on bed." Pop says to the group.

"She should. The night has been long for Leona." Avan smiles. "Shall we make a move, too?"

"It's still early, sensei!"

"Early...?" Avan looks at his watch with a questioning face. Midnight is coming.

"Menruru's mood is down suddenly and she is not getting better, I want to cheer her up with the atmosphere here." Pop explains.

"Then let's go to the bar."

"All bars are closed by midnight in Papunika." Hyunkel reminds him.

"I forgot... How about we all go to your place for a drink?"

"No problem, sensei, except Marm should take a rest as much as she can." Hyunkel is concerned on the fact that Marm believes her wound is fine. It's not. The Homi spell she used on herself can solve the problem just temporarily.

Marm is chitchatting with Queen Furora and Menruru, getting caught in a little trouble.

"It's full of intimate stuffs that you would not like to hear." Marm's cheeks turn red.

"We are not keen on that part of the story." Fufu giggles. "Just tell us how did Hyunkel approach? Did he show his abs?"

The imagination makes Marm burst into a beautiful smile. "No, nothing like that."

"What makes you so happy?" Avan, Hyunkel and Pop come by.

"Some girl stuffs, sensei... Are you leaving the party now?" Marm can tell this when seeing Avan without the wine glass.

"Yes. But we are going to your and Hyunkel's places for a drink, Pop and Menru will join."

"Good idea!" Fufu is still full of energy. The Queen of Carl certainly wants to leave the palace before being dragged into another political topics initiated by leaders of other kingdoms, "but will this disturb you both?" She asks the hosting couple.

"No..." Hyunkel holds Marm in his arm and explains, "We sleep very late."

"Right, you do." Furora smiles and nods, showing her understanding.

They leave the party together and can't avoid attention of the crowd.

"Catch you later, ladies. What a wonderful night, thank you." Fufu stops for a short while to talk to Marlin and Ryi.

"It's our honour, Your Majesty."

"What time would you go home, Marlin?" Standing next to Furora, Marm asks.

"We can't leave until all the Guests of Honour leave. Many of them are still enjoying the night."

"I see, take care."

"Sure." Marlin gently squeezes Marm's arm.

"Ouch..."

"Oh my god _,_ so sorry Marm _,_ I don't know..." Marlin is freaked out when she hurts Marm by mistake. _B_ _ut it's not the shoulder, it's the arm..._

"No worry..."

Marm can't believe the wound is still that tremendous. She walks to Hyunkel who is waiting for her, they hold each other's hand and wander throughout the ballroom corridor of Papunika palace. If she tells him about the pain, perhaps he will shift her to the medical household immediately.

"Marm is beautiful, isn't she?" Marlin asks madam Ryi.

"An angelic face with a sexy body, the conquest in men's minds." The lady nods in agreement and smiles, "I've never seen Hyunkel looking at a woman the way he looks at Marm. When Hyunkel and Emmi broke up, I wondered who could truly tie his heart. Today seeing Marm, I know that person does exist."

...

"Make yourself home, everybody. Our helpers are not working at this hours." Marm anounces happily.

"No worry... we will take a good care of our own." Avan is used to the house as he pays frequent visits to the couple since Hyunkel and Marm moved in together.

The sensei has Hyunkel and Pop go with him to the wine basement for some good selection.

Menru feels very good the moment she steps in. Although nothing can make her forget the bad feeling about Leona's future, conversation between Furora and Marm is quite interesting.

"Pop told me," Menru adds in her curiosity, "you were captured by Hyunkel's army for many days, should be more than a week. How did you overcome it?"

"Marm said it is a forgotten memory. She can only remember the day she was captured and the day she escaped." Furora explains to Menruru.

"It's unusual." Menru looks concerned.

"Nothing to worry, dear." Marm rests assure. Feeling the warmth invading her cheeks, she looks away.

Just like what Furora says, Marm used to forget everything happended in between. However, four months ago, both Hyunkel and herself have the memory returned. They keep the story untold to all friends and family, except Marm's mother Mrs Rella and their sensei Avan.

...

Four Years Ago.

Lights from the small window are dancing on Marm's face, but what wakes her up are some weird voices calling her.

"Get up, get up..."

Opening her eyes, Marm is freaked by the skeletons talking from the other side.

"What do you want?"

"Eat... eat..." They are pointing to a box on the floor, put nearby the gate. And they walk away.

Marm then realises her hands are not tied any longer. _Why?_ She wonders... _Perhaps_ _he asked them to untie me._ Marm finds the answer herself.

Because in this prison within the maze located inside the underground castle, no one else would be able to make any decision on her. The whole Immortal army only listen to Hyunkel.

The box placed on the floor is a lunch box. Marm is surprised that the skeletons here can make human meals. Once finishing eating, Marm walks to the wodden gate and looks through the small window. There is only one skeleton soldier standing outside, and all her weapons are not visible.

Suddenly, Marm thinks about Hyunkel. The underground castle is interesting with its classic architectural style. Comparing with Crocodile, Hyunkel does have a better taste in living standard. _It's not strange, he is a human being_.

She is holding the chain that Hyunkel threw away. _Quiet a stubborn person, what for wearing it for years if it doesn't mean anything?_ She doesn't have any hostility toward him, not at all.

However, it's too bad to be captured in such a small place. How to escape... and how to...

Thinking of that, Marm tries talking to the skeleton guarding outside. There is no reply, the skeleton just looks at her and runs away.

"Are you having a request?" After a while, a short demon walks toward Marm's prison cell and asks her. He dresses properly in human suit, Marm recognises him at one. He was among the mummy and the skeletons who escorted her here yesterday.

"Thanks to Hyunkel sama, they have basic abilities to talk and understand the human language." He refers to the skeletons and other types of Immortal army warriors. "But they can't have a proper conversation with you. So you can tell me your request, the human girl."

"Do you... have a rest room here?" Marm asks softly.

"What is that?" The short demon and the skeleton look at each other. "I need to ask Hyunkel sama."

"No, don't ask him." Marm doesn't know why, but she is shy to let Hyunkel know such a private request of hers. "It's somewhere only Hyunkel uses, for his ... human stuffs." Marm tries to explain.

"Hmmm... I see, I will take you there." The demon opens the gate for Marm. "Hyunkel sama said as long as you are in the underground castle, it is fine. Don't think of escaping, girl. You won't be able too. You know where this place is."

And the demon has himself and a mummy escort Marm to the _restroom_.

The maze is huge and it is full of different types of Immortal warriors. Marm soon realizes that they don't capture anyone except her. The more she explores the place, the more she is dragged into it. Now Marm knows, this was the place where her parents should have accompanied Avan sensei to fight against Hadlar years ago. However, mom was pregnant at that time, having her, and Avan sensei did all tricks to stop the companion of her parents. Marm finds herself _slightly_ attached to this place, where lays the lonely journey of Avan sensei, where witnesses a difficult timeline of her parents' youth.

Finally they get out of the maze and stand along a corridor made of fine granite and classic Corinthian columns. Marm is taken to a hall located in end of the corridor.

"This should be what you are looking for." The short demon confirms.

"No, this is a kitchen." Marm tells them.

"Kit...chen." The skeleton repeats after Marm, seems like it is very keen on learning human language.

"Like what you said, only Hyunkel sama uses this place."

"He does the cooking?" It's unbelievable for Marm.

"We tried to do this for him, but he couldn't swallow. So in the end, he decided to cook by himself. Girl, our sama is a nice person, he even gives you the food he made."

"I see, no wonder..." Marm glances through the kitchen before the demon closes the door. The place is incredibly neat and organised. _How long has Hyunkel been living on his own as the only human being in the demon world? How is he able to maintain the human lifestyle despite having thousands of demon creatures surrounding him._

"You don't mean the bed... do you?" The demon asks.

 _Bedroom_. "No, it should be a place with access to water and mirror."

"Then there is only one place. I can't be wrong. Hyunkel sama has a room full of pa...per. But I can't take you there. He doesn't allow us to come in anymore. The stupid mummies played with his pa...pers once and he got real mad."

 _Papers? Should be books._ Marm bursts into smiles. "I mean water, not paper. Do you know? To wash face, and wash hands..." Marm demonstrates the actions to explain to the demon, the skeleton and the mummy.

"Ah... get it. Follow us." They quickly lead the way and has Marm follow immediately.

"You come in alone, girl. We don't like this place. Will wait for you here."

"Good. You are not supposed to follow a lady into the restroom." Marm says.

"Rest...room." The skeleton repeats after Marm while the mummy stays away from the door for at least five meters.

"No way to escape, girl, remember."

Not replying the short demon, Marm enters the hall directly. It's really too big to be a restroom, most probably the short demon is wrong again.

However, Marm does want to know what is this place used for. Definitely a little curiosity can't kill Marm the cat.

When Marm is passing through the walkway, she sees a beautiful courtyard with nice combination of plants and rocks, covered by weak sunshines. This is the reason why his minions don't like coming in. They don't like sunshine. _But he likes._ So even that's the tiny sunshine coming from hundreds of meters above, he does his best to catch some. Marm realises. No flower though. _Doesn't like flowers?_

Behind the walk way is what Marm's looking for.

Water. He even has the basin and mirror. The water has refreshed her. And when looking into the mirror, Marm can't identify if she is beautiful or not, but she is herself, a sixteen years old girl who gets approval to leave home and fight for justice, so she feels good. _Ready to escape._

And yes, he has the restroom. Marm quickly runs into it.

When being about to leave the place, Marm hears something sounded like a water fountain. The sound is very nice and the longer Marm stands still to listen to it, the nicer it becomes. Coming from the air is a pleasant smell of lime and lemongrass, bringing Marm a great relax. Following her instinct, she walks further down, toward the sound of fountain.

Surprisingly, there are huge thermal baths connecting to each other. This place is not only a restroom, it's a thermal bath of warm spring water. Marm sees the ambience, feels the water temperature and ends up not being able to control herself. In addition, nobody is here.

 _Just five, ten minutes._

Without hesitation, Marm undresses and gets into the bath. It feels like paradise, just as her imagination.

 **End Chapter 28.**

 **Related Chapters:** Goodbye, I Love You (I, II)and Over The Moon


	32. Chapter 29 - The Underground Castle (II)

**Chapter 29 - The Underground Castle (II)**

 _Obviously she is enjoying._ Hyunkel thinks.

Although having no idea how did Marm make her way here, Hyunkel has no intention to interrupt her. An interruption will disturb the beautiful smile on her lips. At this moment, he decides just to wait (for his turn).

He doesn't ignore a fact that he is concerned about her. But this is not a big deal. They are not walking along the same way.

Getting all done with the bath, Marm quickly leaves the place. She never expects the underground castle to be quite comfortable for living. Yet when stepping out of the hall, it's a bigger surprise for her to see Hyunkel standing along the corridor.

There is no feeling of being terrified or angry when pumping into him out of a sudden. Judged by his appearance, he is harmless. However, Marm knows he is still the one who leads the Immortal army to destroy almost the whole capital of Papunika.

"Hi." That's all she can say when facing him. In a close distance, he is more handsome. Marm also realises how tall he is.

"You have finished the bath?" He asks. It's finally his turn.

"You know I was taking bath?" Marm's cheeks are blushed immediately.

"I would not stand here if I didn't know." He can also feel a lovely smell from her.

Marm then keeps quiet. What else to expect, jumping into people's bath and got caught. But...

"All because you keep me here. I reject to be a prisoner."

He laughs before telling her with a cold voice, "What you want, or what you don't want, is none of my business."

And she is dragged by him toward the bathhouse's exit. Marm keeps hitting him but obviously it is of no use. He lets go of her when they are out of the bathhouse. "How did you come here?"

"The short demon and others led the way. They said it was your permission, so don't blame them. They are supposed to be here waiting for me, too."

"There is no way they dare to stand here for that long." He confirms with a mysterious half smile.

"Hyunkel..."

 _What now?_

"Have you thought about what I said earlier? Even if _our_ sensei may have done a wrong thing to your father, but Hadlar and the devils behind him are the worst to partner with."

"I have my own thinking."

"In addition, it's sensei whom you are having a problem with, but you are making people in Papunika suffer. I bet you know they are innocent and I bet you take your father's death as an excuse. In fact you also know that everything you are doing is wrong."

"Why do you keep playing with my temper?"

Marm can feel his physical strength when he is grabbing her neck. Marm closes her eyes as a natural reaction, thinking that he will hit her.

For him, it's in fact worse than losing a temper, there is also a growing desire toward her that he finds it hard to control, the desire is especially obvious now when she is that close.

His desire wins easily.

He makes a step closer to her and holds a slow, sensual kiss on her soft lips, gives her a pleasant pressure. His entire body is leaning toward her, his fingers are massaging the sensitive skin around her neck, her body is kept tightly in his arm, and she can feel the breathtaking intimacy until he hesitantly breaks away.

Marm slowly opens her eyes when it's over. Her mind is shattered with a lot of questions. "You... kissed me? Why?" She murmurs, looking into his eyes and trying to understand him from them.

The eye contact just conveys a deeper passion. And he can't answer her why does he act this way, he only wants it to repeat.

"Hyunkel sama."

The short demon appears out of no where and is totally freaked out, thinking his master is angry to see the human girl.

"Sorry Sir for giving access to the human girl here. The mummies will take her back to the prison cell." He gives sign for the mummies to come and escort Marm.

Marm looks at Hyunkel with plenty of unspoken feelings before being dragged away. But eventhough the experience is unforgettable, she has to make sure this won't continue. "No way you can kiss me again." She tells Hyunkel, "...if you are still at that side."

And she doesn't understand why she added the second phase of the sentence. _Whatever._ Marm tries to forget the feeling. In her mind, she knows she must shift the focus back to escape.

"The human girl is very stubborn, but she won't be able to run away from here." The short demon confirms to Hyunkel.

He merely nods.

"How long do you tend to keep her here, Sir?"

"Until her friends come."

"Can you let her work in the cooking room? The human girl must be able to make good meals."

"Up to you." Hyunkel walks into the bath. "Make sure she doesn't poison me, or do anything foolish."

...

When the next day arrives, Marm is taken to the kitchen.

"He wants me to cook?" Her eyebrows raise after hearing the request from the demon.

"Our master is very busy these days. If you are kind enough to help him, girl."

"What is he busy with?" Marm is curious.

"That I can't reveal."

Marm doesn't question any further. On the contrary, she focuses on remembering the way to get out of the maze. This is the second time that Marm is taking out of the prison. She needs to do a good job in cooking because she needs them to release her for two, three more times. Until then, she would be familiar with the way.

The thinkings of how to escape from here to reunite with Dai and Pop are filling up Marm's mind until she can sense a strong murdering dark ki along the corridor. Marm looks in front and sees a beast walking toward her and the short demon. The beast's body is made of half ice and half fire. From the appearance, she can tell that it is not from the Immortal army. Marm is full of alert as the beast is coming closer.

"It's Flazzard. One of the army commanders whom you won't want to mess with." The short demon warns Marm.

However, the beast passes by them with a total ignorance. Marm turns back to observe it further more and unfortunately, that catches some attentions.

"What is here, a human girl? Are you the princess of Papunika?" Its eyes are cunning on Marm.

"What princess?" Marm is ready in the defending position.

"Then who are you?"

"None of your business, Flazzard."

Marm recognises it's Hyunkel's voice, although he doesn't show up.

The Ice and Fire monster clearly shows a dismay before leaving the place without touching Marm.

"Phew..." The short demon feels relieved and continues taking Marm to the kitchen.

...

"It smells weird." The short demon comments when he carries the foods to Hyunkel, "but I guess this is what the human eats. Follow me to his chamber, girl."

"What for?" Marm is surprised.

"To have the meal together with Hyunkel sama. Don't you want to eat anything?"

"Ok." _The more I know about this castle, the better._

But when she sees Hyunkel in the chamber, her heart starts beating fast uncontrollably.

"What's this?" Hyunkel asks when looking at the meal tray.

"Rice, soup and fried chicken." Marm explains. "I have done my best." She adds.

He eats without making any further conversation.

"Arggg... I'm sorry, the chicken is too sweet." Marm realises she made the same mistake whenever she is in charge of cooking. That's why back at home, she is only asisgned physical duties like gathering water or timbers.

"It's ok." He has no problem with the foods.

"I can't finish, do you want to have my share?" Marm asks reluctantly.

"Why did you take that much from the beginning?"

Although mocking her, he still puts his plate toward her side to get the share.

"I was hungry... but It's fine now." _I didn't know my cooking sucks._ She looks at him and is pretty sure that he will not ask her to cook again next time. "What are you busy with? Looking for Dai and Pop?" Marm asks.

"I don't have to. They will come here by themselves. I just don't expect it takes them this long."

Marm knows three days have passed. Perhaps Dai and Pop are having some trainings, but perhaps they are badly injured.

When Hyunkel catches the concern in Marm's eyes, he has made the decision.

"After this, you can go." He says.

"What do you mean?"

"You will be free. Char will get you out of this underground castle."

"Who is Char?"

"It's me. As I said, Hyunkel sama is a nice person." The short demon says.

"No, you are wrong. He is not nice." Marm looks at Hyunkel. "He is just someone who is blinded and doesn't have any ability to make a right judgement."

"You never know how to stop. Do you?" He stops eating and asks her.

"Hyunkel sama and the human girl, maybe you should finish the meal before start fighting?"

"I'm done eating." Marm says.

"Me too." Hyunkel stands up from his position and walks to Marm.

Marm is fully alerted. There is no way he can grab her neck, or hold her body, or kiss her.

However, he did nothing as such. He only takes her hand and says, "Get out of here, Marm."

It's the first time he calls her name. Marm's heart has skipped a beat if it's not almost melted.

"I... don't want to." Marm shakes her head when looking into his eyes. With no plan, with no reason, all she has is a natural determination to follow what the heart tells. In a sudden, all intentions to escape seem faded away.

Hyunkel doesn't say anything else, he only uses his physical strength to force her out of the chair and leads her out of the underground castle.

"Hyunkel sama..." The short demon wants to stop his master but he sees the impossibility to change Hyunkel's mind. "Too bad, I was hoping he would keep the human girl here for longer."

...

"You are afraid that I can convince you if I keep being here. You know the side you selected is wrong." Marm continously reasons with Hyunkel along the way although he doesn't respond at all.

"I believe I can get you back to the human world. I don't want to leave you here." She keeps trying to stop him with her own strength, too. And she is not sure how many percent of her words can go through his stubborn ears.

Suddenly a team of his army running toward him in lines, looks like they are in a rush. They report to him with their basic human language skills. From what Marm can understand, someone in the Demon force is coming.

Immediately Hyunkel carries her in his arms.

"You need to wait for a while." He takes her back to the underground castle.

"What happened? You are not heading to the prison cell as well." Marm can tell that he doesn't bring her to the maze area.

Hyunkel looks at her with a surprise. "You know the way?"

"Sort of." She admits. "I need to know how to escape when I have to."

And she sees him smiling. Warmer than his sarcastic half smile or the arrogant laughs, this smile of his is much truer, too.

Marm wraps both her arms around his neck, letting him carry her to wherever he wants to.

...

He puts her in the reading room, the place he forbids his minions from entering. "Hang in here until I come back."

"Why?"

He looks at her and decides to cast a spell that stops her from exiting. For he knows she won't listen to him.

...

Hyunkel was assigned to take over the land of Papunika and execute the leader of this kingdom. He gets the first part of the duty accomplished within two weeks. Papunika army is not strong. However, the connection between the army and citizens was a challenge for him. Princess Leona is still nowhere to be found.

Anyway, he is not keen on killing such a young girl like Leona or vulnerable people like the stubborn citizens of Papunika. He finds the new duty to take care of Avan's disciplines much more relevant and accepts it at one.

Flazzard, on the contrary, is very eager to know Leona's whereabouts and volunteers to conquer Papunika. It, craving for achievement with a mere stupidity, must have assumed that Marm is Leona and is leading an army here to claim the prisioner back. Even if Flazzard knows Marm's real identity, Marm still won't be able to survive when she faces that ambitious monster alone. Hyunkel is sure of that.

Flazzard is waiting for him at the maze entrance. What Hyunkel was reported is correct, almost the whole Ice and Fire army has been gathered.

"Get out of here." He talks to Flazzard with no good will.

"Only after you hand out the princess."

"Find the princess yourself. I'm not keeping her."

"Liar! I have seen the girl. Don't think you can claim..."

"Off. This is your last chance." His sword is aimed on Flazzard.

"Hyunkel, today I will take over your army."

...

From the headquarter of the Demon force, Hadlart is viewing the fight with a satisfactory smile.

To Hadlart, Flazzard is a threat for his position because of its crazy thirst on power. However, the monster of Ice and Fire is easy to be manipulated. Knowing Hyunkel is keeping the female discipline of Avan in the underground castle, Hadlart told Flazzard it is princess Leona that the Immortal army has captured and Hyunkel did this with a purpose to destroy Flazzard's reputation.

Hadlart believes Hyunkel will kill Flazzard. Hyunkel has an arrogant mind and won't give any mercy to another army that invades his territory, especially that dumber is Flazzard.

"Such a good show." He laughs. Sharing the joy with him is Zebola.

 **End Chapter 29.**

 **Related Chapters:** Goodbye, I Love You (I, II)and Over The Moon


	33. Chapter 30- The Underground Castle (III)

**Chapter 30 - The Underground Castle (III)**

Papunika has fallen into a deep night. Under the moonlight, collapse and ruins of the kingdom's capital are less obvious, but the emptiness becomes more vivid. No human beings are seen in the town.

In the dark sky, shadows of ghost are floating all around, signing for the appearance of Misuto Ban.

"Stop the fight."

Hyunkel and Flazzard immediately realise it's voice of the mystery commander from Shadow army.

"Leave the Underground Castle now and search for the princess of Papunika at nearby islands, she is no longer in the capital." Misuto tells the Fire and Ice commander.

"But Hadlar sama says..."

"Leave the Underground Castle." Mitsuto Ban's voice suddenly sounds like it's coming from an infinite space.

"Fine... Don't try to cover for your discipline, Mitsuto. Even if the princess is not here, Hyunkel is keeping a human girl. This is suspicious." Flazzard murmurs with anger before making a withdraw.

Mitsuto steps in front of Hyunkel, "Vearn Sama's order is a top priority."

...

"What took you so long?" Marm asks him. She also wants to tell him that she hates being locked, she hates being a prisoner.

But when he doesn't answer and just walking toward her, with his eyes glazed into hers, so deep and so blue that they shatter her mind, no additional words can come out from her mouth.

"The Fire and Ice force has just visited this place." He says.

"Do you team up to kill Dai? He is just a child. You can't do that." Marm shakes her head and is definitely disappointed.

"Don't look at me like this." He covers her eyes.

"Hyunkel, you don't belong to this demon world. You are a human being." Her voice is down.

"I belong here just like my father who served the Immortal Army. The world I know since I was born is this Underground castle, all are planted in my mind." His hand slightly moves away so he can look into her eyes when saying all these.

Unlike the uncertain feeling he has when arguing with Marm about killing Dai and Avan, he owns a sense of belonging to the Immortal Force, and most probably, to the whole demon world, too.

"I understand why you insist in changing the way I view your world and mine. However, there are many things you are not aware about the connection between I and the demon places. I don't take order from Vearn or Mitsuto Ban for the sake of carrying a duty. I do it for the side I have chosen."

"But... when I look into your eyes, all I can see is the sadness and the loneliness. If you are at the right side, why are there many conflicts in your heart?"

To him, while he treats Marm differently due to her sweetness and vulnerability, her stubbornness has an amazing ability to challenge his goodwill.

"Perhaps I'm lonely." He steps closer and grabs her waist, pulls her into him. He lifts her chin up with a strength that she can't resist, forcing her mouth to open beneath his, thrusting deeper into the delicious taste.

After kissing her the first time, he knew there would easily come the second time.

When he is holding her in his hands and kissing her now, he doesn't know how to stop, and it seems that she doesn't know how to reject him neither.

"Sorry." He leaves her mouth and looks into her eyes, stroking her soft hairs. He realises the metal amour is hurting her skin. So he recalls it. Interestingly he finds Marm is kissing him back.

"I'm feeling so strange." She looks at him.

"No worry... just kiss."

Marm approaches him slowly, softly. And she feels his hand starts stroking along her thighs, in a quick rhythm it moves inside her dress. "How... old are you?" He asks.

"I'm above the age of consent." She tells him.

He knows what type of consent is she referring to. Her face is as red as the apple and he can sense the excitement from her. "Thank you for the information..." He murmurs when leaving her skin for a short while.

"Why are you doing this?" Marm whispers. All she can feel now is a great pleasure of intimacy.

"I like you." He cannot hide the truth when looking into her eyes.

"But I don't understand my feeling." Her fingers tangle up in his hair, "I'm just very happy that your eyes are not sad now..."

"You can tell? You are so cute, Marm." He bursts into a smile that blows her mind away.

And she is dragged to another deep kiss in his mouth. In next few hours he doesn't miss a thing on and inside her.

...

"I won't do this with anyone else." She hugs him and says innocently.

"When you grow up, you will find a suitable person by your side and you may have a different idea."

"Why can't that person be you?"

"Why can't that person be me?" He strokes her soft hair and his voice is gentle. He knows Marm is not going to like the answer... "As much as you want me to be back to the human world, this will never happen. You have to accept it, Marm." He pulls her to him and places kisses on her beautiful eyes, "I'm sorry I won't be by your side when you grow up. When you are abit older, you will be glad that there has never been any relationship between us."

"But we have already... I've never had this feeling with any other men."

"I know." He moves on to kiss her lips, to lay on top of her. And Marm is driven to the pleasure again. Her concern is unanswered. He doesn't have any other answers yet.

...

When Marm opens her eyes, she realises she is on a bed, covered completely by a blanket. This is definitely not the room she stayed with Hyunkel before falling asleep last night.

Her clothes are fold neatly, placed nearby her and Hyunkel is nowhere to be seen.

Glancing through the room, Marm is surprised to see her weapons on the desk. She gets dress quickly and run to them, she has been missing them, the spear and the magic gun, both seem to be untouched.

"Oh... Gome?" Marm also notices Gome in a small cage. The cute and mysterious creature is unconscious, worrying Marm. "Gome, Gome... Are you ok?"

And then she smiles when feeling the breaths and snores of Gome.

It is just sleeping.

Marm wants to release Gome from the cage, but she is not able to unlock the chain.

"Why are you here?" It's the voice of the short demon. He is leading some skeleton soldiers and mummies who are carrying cleaning equipment.

"I have no idea." _Perhaps Hyunkel brought me here when I was sleeping._ "Do you know how to unlock this cage?"

"Hyunkel sama asked to keep this flying creature inside."

"Can you help? Gome is my friend."

"Ok." The short demon takes the cage from Marm, "I will ask Hyunkel sama."

"Where is he?"

"At this time, he is probably in the arena. Girl, since you are still here, don't forget your duty in the kitchen. You know the way, don't you?"

Then the short demon walks away with Gome and the rest Immortal soldiers start doing room cleaning, leaving Marm alone.

"Hey, how to go to the arena?" Marm asks out loud.

...

It seems to be a busy new day. A lot of trainings are happening among the Immortal soldiers themselves. The atmosphere is somehow lively despite a fact that all members of the force are creatures from the death.

However, Hyunkel is not here. Marm has a feeling he is not in the territory of Underground Castle at all. Being forced by the short demon, Marm makes another meal for Hyunkel.

In the middle of the day, it starts raining heavily. Hyunkel is still nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know that Papunika will rain this month." Marm is back to the arena, looking at the grey sky in lightnings and wonders.

What she also doesn't know is, the rain is a result as well as a tool of Pop and Dai's training. Miles away, her friends are trying hard to rescue her and to fight against Hyunkel.

There are many reasons that stop Marm from looking for Dai and Pop at the moment. In her heart, the best senario is to have Hyunkel be at their side, but this wouldn't happen if he wins Dai in the fight.

"Come in here." The short demon keeps waiving hands to Marm.

It's when she realises the rain has become so heavy that no soldiers are in the arena and it's also when she realises something really important.

"Char, you were revived because Hadlar came back to life, weren't you?" Marm quickly asks the short demon.

"Yes. He was our commander back then, once he was back to life, our entire force will be alive again, too."

"Even if you were killed by my sensei Avan?"

"The knight from Carl didn't kill me, I vanished when Hadlar sama died the first time.

"Were there anyone killed by my sensei and got revived by Hadlar?" Marm's heart is beating fast, she needs a Yes in his answer to prove her theory.

"Yes. Those who were in the battling teams: the skeletons, the mummies, but not the monster beasts. As a matter of fact, those beasts were added from..."

"Then why wasn't Hyunkel's father revived?" Marm murmurs. "Char, is there any chance that an Immortal soldier can't be revived even the commander is back from death?"

"No. This is what makes us a strongest team. We are immortal as long as our commander is alive."

"Why do you think Hyunkel's father didn't return to life?"

The short demon looks at Marm for a short while, and tells her, "I don't know."

"Do you really don't know?" Marm suspects.

"Speaking of which, Hyunkel sama has already asked you to leave, why are you still here?"

"He said I needed to wait."

"That was because Flazzard led his army here and Hyunkel sama wanted to keep you safe. But now Flazzard has left, I believe our master would want you to leave as soon as possible."

"I must tell him something important."

"He won't want to hear. Please leave immediately."

"Char, this is very important for him."

"I guess so. But Hyunkel sama is the kindest master we have ever served, I can't let you take him away from us."

The short demon rings a bell, and in a quick glance of eyes, a team of Immortal soldiers appear in front of Marm, they don't seem to be here for any good will. Marm holds her spear tightly and is ready to fight with them.

...

"Where is Marm?" Hyunkel asks the short demon when he is back to the Underground Castle later at night.

"She has left, Sir, she left in the morning with her weapons."

"I see." Unintentionally, he looks at the bed where they slept last night. _So fast._

"Should we serve you dinner now? The human girl has made some food this afternoon."

"Didn't she leave in the morning?"

"I mean mid day, Sir. She left after making the food."

"Ok, bring it here."

He is having dinner alone just as usual. The short demon can notice his master sometimes looks at the empty side of the table.

"Sir, you seem to concern about the human girl's absence."

"It's her decision, but she is right. This place is not suitable for her."

And the atmosphere remains quiet. Somehow, Hyunkel has a feeling Marm will be back soon, with Dai and Pop, of course.

"Why didn't she bring this creature with her?" He asks when seeing Gome in the cage.

"You said you wanted to capture it. So I didn't give it back to her."

Hyunkel looks at Gome closely and can't understand what is so special about this little creature that Mitsuto Ban asked to keep it in this cage. Gome has been sleeping since then.

...

"Hyunkel sama, Hyunkel sama!"

Hyunkel is in a bath and recognises the familiar voice of one Immortal soldier who is keen on learning language the most.

Normally his minions are very good at avoiding the bathhouse, it's unusual when one of them makes a way here.

He looks at the skeleton soldier, waiting for the update.

But the skeleton only stands still and staring at Hyunkel, which is kind of creepy. "What do you want to say?" He asks impatiently.

"Up, up." That's all the skeleton can do for a verbal communication. It is trying to make some signals. All it wants is to persuade Hyunkel to follow it.

Because of the alert he always has for the surrounding, Hyunkel quickly gets the idea.

"You can't just learn every words by heart. You have to practice speaking." He tells skeleton soldier when following it.

Hyunkel soon realises they are heading to the maze of prison cells. The skeleton soldier takes Hyunkel through many corners and finally stops in front of one. It gets a touch from the wall and gives to Hyunkel.

Although it is still dark inside the cell, Hyunkel recognises the familiar body shape at one. With anger and anxiety, he breaks the wooden gate by his bare hands.

He is not wrong, it's Marm. He feels uneasy, angry, and worried when seeing injuries across her body, lots of parts are bleeding. He gently holds Marm in his lab and uses the dark magic to heal her immediately.

He has never learned any heal spells from Avan or Mitsuto. In this situation he believes the dark power granted by Vearn can help and he is just doing everything based on the instinct. He has never acted in such a rush, but nothing is more important than saving Marm's life now.

"Hyunkel..." She slowly opens her eyes.

"Keep up, I'm healing you."

"Our sensei... didn't kill your father." On her injured face, a smile is still lighted up.

"Don't bother this. Do you feel better? Or do you feel pains?"

 _I feel pain._

"I have no proof now and if.. if I can't find any proof, will you...believe what I said?"

"That's not important. Tell me, how do you feel?"

Tears are coming from her eyes uncontrollably, and bloods are coming from her mouth. Marm screams.

Now he knows even owning a power to heal Marm, he is not able to do it correctly. "Call Char here!" He asks the skeleton soldier.

He wipes the blood and gently kisses her forehead. "Don't be scared, Marm, you will not die, I promise." And he kisses her again.

...

"Human loves, how sweet!" Death Ban exclaims.

"I told you, there is something between him and that girl, Avan's student." Zebola laughs.

"Vearn sama, let me conquer his territory. Like what we see, he is giving mercy to our enemy."

"Shut up. Vearn sama would like to see how far would Hyunkel go to save the girl.

...

"Sir..." The short demon has come. "Let me do something... I know the advanced heal spells." The demon comes by and tends to touch Marm's hand. But without his notice, Hyunkel's sword has already left several deep cuts on him, leaving him in pains.

"Now heal yourself with the spells, right here."

The short demon has never encountered such anger from his master before. At this stage, he can just obey the order.

Hyunkel observes what the short demon does carefully.

He is learning the heal spells with full focus and caution. He then starts with the less severe wounds. When successful, he moves on with more serious ones. All he consumed are dark power, of which he has plenty. Almost an hour passed by, results seem positive. Although Marm is still unconscious, all physical wounds are gone.

"What to do for internal wounds?" Hyunkel asks the short demon.

"Sir, it's the same on theory. But to heal an inner wound successfully, you need experiences to determine how much power you need to spend. I'm not sure how to..."

"Hyunkel..." Marm's voice is soft, she holds his hands with all her remaining energy. "That's enough, I don't want any dark power..."

"Don't be stubborn, let me do what is best."

"Dark power is never the best." She shakes her head.

"Sir, how about calling Zebola or Mitsuto sama here to help?" The short demon suggests.

Doesn't trust any of them, Hyunkel quietly conducts the dark heal spells once again to heal the inner wounds of Marm.

...

"I'm glad you are getting better." He says while stroking her hair gently. What he did seems working fairly well.

"Thank you..." Marm smiles sadly. He still believes in the power of dark magic, but he tries hard and is serious to save her. So she is not giving up in changing his belief. "Take this..." She shows Hyunkel the chain she is keeping in her scarf.

He immediately recognises it's the one Avan gave to him. "Why are you holding it?"

"It's yours."

"Not anymore."

"Your father wasn't _"

 _Wasn't... wasn't...what?_

Out of sudden, Marm can't remember what to say.

"Hyunkel, I forgot what I wanted to tell you, it's about the chain." She looks at him, full of worry. That seems to be quite an important thing.

"It's fine. I have nothing to do with this chain. You hold it if you want." He carries her up and asks, "But you remember what happened last night between us, don't you?"

Marm remembers, and she is definitely shy.

He smiles, "Take a rest in my room."

She listens to him. However, she wonders why is he asking her to rest.

As Hyunkel carries her along the maze, Marm starts getting very confused.

"I don't remember what brought me to this place." She tells him.

 **End Chapter 30.**

 **Related Chapters:** Goodbye, I Love You (I, II) and Over The Moon


	34. Chapter 31 - Permission To Love

**Chapter 31 - Permission To Love**

 _He looks very calm. But for him to be here immediately, the girl is definitely his concern._

Hyunkel is in the castle of the Ghost Shadow Force, talking to Mitsuto.

"Why does she lose all memories?" He asks.

"Human beings who have a pure heart can't take our power for granted. It heals her in the beginning and will destroy her eventually, either physically or mentally."

"In her case it's the amnesia."

"A natural outcome, nothing can be done. Dark magic works perfectly on human beings if you aim to harm them: attack, erase memories or any other kinds of brain damages..." Misuto stands in front of Hyunkel. "Since she has no idea about her identity and anything else now, she is no threat. Vearn sama permits her to stay with you."

 _Can you see the temptation is his eyes, Vearn sama? He will say Yes._

"Please convey my gratitude to Vearn sama." As Misuto's expectation, Hyunkel agrees after a short while.

"In addition, I want to keep the flying creature, the only living being Marm carries to the Underground Castle. I want it to accompany her."

The atmosphere turns into a silence. When Hyunkel looks at Misuto, he has a feeling the mysterious General of the demon force is no longer in the room.

 _I understand, Vearn sama._

"You can keep it." Misuto says slowly. "And you mustn't open the cage. It must be there forever."

...

In the Underground Castle, Marm is still awake. She is not aware of a fact that she is all alone by herself, doing the same thing hour after hour.

"Why do you sleep?" She murmurs to Gome. Having no sense about time and no ability to remember anything, she doesn't know that she has repeated this question so many times.

"You like it?"

Marm turns back and looks at him who has just questioned her. _No idea who he is._ However, she feels like answering.

"Not really. It keeps sleeping."

Marm passes the cage to Hyunkel and plays with the reflection of the light, something new that is catching her attention.

"You are right..." He knows the cage is locked by dark magic spells. _Why using such a strong power to remain the harmless creature in unconsciousness?_ He wonders.

He puts the cage aside when feeling Marm's body leaning on him. She is yawning.

Initially she forgot why was she in the maze, then all other memories slipped through continuously. She quickly doesn't remember who he is and has no idea about her own identity in the end.

It's still Marm who is sitting next to him. But she is no longer herself. Her mind doesn't function well enough for a normal adult. All are his faults.

"Let's go to sleep." He walks Marm to the bedchamber.

The suggestion of Misuto is never under his consideration and will never be.

 _If dark magic doesn't work for her, I can try heal spells of human mages._ Thinkings are running in his mind when he looks at Marm as she is sleeping.

And he himself falls asleep gradually.

In his dream, he sees Avan. He has not seen Avan for about ten years but the senario is very true, seems like it just happened yesterday.

 _"What is this?" He asks._

 _Avan is arranging some items into a box. These items are very familiar, he must have seen them somewhere._

 _"I'm going to have a second student. This is a weapon I prepare for her, not much for attacking but for the benefits of defending and healing." Avan tells him happily._

 _Seeing his serious face, the sensei adds, "No worry, she is a cute little girl, you guys will be good friends."_

 _"I don't have time for friends, sensei." He answers firmly. He is eleven now, full of intention to revenge._

 _"Come on, be more friendly." The sensei tries to cheer him up and smiles. "We are going to..."_

 _Romos. Hyunkel remembers._

 _"What for? You are teaching me the Sky Slash, aren't you?"_

 _"Hmmm... I'm not sure... You need more practices, Hyunkel. Now go catch some fish for our dinner while I put Behoma spell into the final bullet."_

That last sentence wakes him up.

Marm is the second student Avan mentioned years ago and her weapon is _that_ magic gun.

If they are lucky, the bullet with Behoma spell, a strongest heal spell that was casted by Avan must still be there.

He has the gun and its bullets box delivered to him immediately. The moment he sees a bullet named Behoma, he almost wakes Marm up. However, his mind changes after a second of thought.

...

"Follow me." Hyunkel holds Marm's hand. He is pretty sure she will forget what he says after a short while and she may get lost here.

"I want to take it along." Marm points at Gome.

"No problem... Why do you want to carry it?" He asks. He wants to have as many conversations with her as he can even these conversations won't stay long in her memory.

"Feel like doing so."

"Wanna give it a name?"

Marm is hesitating for a short while and looks at him, "No... I think it already has one... but I don't remember."

"No worry, you will, soon." Gently, he tells her.

And he holds her hand, walking her to his own library.

"Hyunkel sama, how about the training today?" The short demon is waiting for him along the corridor.

"Get them carry on as usual. Any clues where Dai is?"

"Not yet, Sir. But the unusual rain hasn't happened since last night, I suspect something is going on at the enemy's side."

Hyunkel remembers Pop and several guards of princess Leona quite excel at magics. Very likely a plan has started, and this means an attack to his headquarter is coming soon.

He doesn't bother.

He is aware of the gap between himself and these opponents from Papunika.

The only thing he bothers now is time. He needs enough time to heal Marm and arrange her escape.

"If they come, lure them to the arena and inform me."

...

"I have to read about magic spells. It may take a while." He explains to Marm.

Ever since she loses memories, all conversations are initiated by him. He talks more than usual, he is slightly different, all happen without his notice.

Marm looks at the book that takes so much of his attention. Somehow she understands the texts, she points on the page that he is reading.

"Wipe...memories..."

"You know language of the demon world?" He is surprised.

Marm doesn't reply him, the page catches her interest and she murmurs the reading softly.

"Ok, read from here." He asks her and is glad when she follows. He wraps his arm around her waist and keeps her in the embrace. That's the way they read together.

They spent the whole morning there. Marm got bored in the middle and she quickly shifted interests to other books.

Since she doesn't seem to have intention to tear off pages like what his minions did, Hyunkel lets her play with any books she likes and continues the reading by himself.

"You must be hungry now. Time for lunch." He pats on Marm's shoulder. Marm seems very focusing, the cage that keeps Gome is placed next to her.

Marm looks at him and smiles. Smiles of Marm always erase the creases between his brows.

"Why smile like this?" He asks. Gleams of joy are seen in his eyes.

"In the book." Marm giggles.

His eyes open widely when he sees the page, not because of a drawing of Gome that Marm is pointing at, but because of the chapter headline which states, _Tear Of God._

 _Tear Of God - a divine item able to grant wishes for the pure of heart._

He reads the whole chapter and walks her out of the room, carrying the cage along.

...

The sunshine is too bright for Marm, freaking her out. "Where's here?" She asks Hyunkel, hiding herself behind him.

"Land of Papunika."

Soon when her eyes are used to the sun, Marm finds the weather a pleasant one. Sky is beautiful in blue, yet the place is full of ruins and collapses.

She follows Hyunkel. Gradually she recognises him. Since he always talks to her, she remembers his voice. Since he is always by her side, she remembers the feeling.

Rather than that, there is no memory of him, just like there is nothing else in her mind at any time being.

Hyunkel takes Marm to a river near by the entrance of Underground Castle. They are going leave the darkness for a while. Perhaps the dream has affected him. He feels like making a same memory with Marm, even this memory is going to be momentary for her.

Marm sees him stepping into the water, topless, and focused. Then she gets so excited when he catches a fish. That smile of her in the breeze of autumn has warmed his heart completely.

The afternoon goes on softly. Marm keeps playing with the water when he grills the fish. They have lunch together, Marm eats quietly and so does him. The pleasant sunshine of autumn is a fine component to the sound of silence surrounded them.

"Where is this place?" Marm asks.

"Land of Papunika." He repeats.

"I want to go there." Marm points at the river eagerly.

"The water temperature is low, you will catch a cold. You have played there for several times."

"Have I? Do I always forget things?" She questions.

"Not always." He lets her sitting on him and wraps his arms around her.

Marm is immediately comforted by the warmth of him. Soon she wonders why she doesn't want to go anywhere anymore.

And still keeps Marm in his arm, he makes a cast to open Gome's cage, brings the little creature out. Gome is still sleeping.

"This is a Tear of God. It can grant wishes to somebody like you. Having it along, you will be safe."

Hyunkel places Gome on Marm's hands. Seeing her being lovely with the blushed cheeks, his heart is moved. Is it him or she is the most beautiful person ever. _That's enough._ He reminds himself.

"I will let it sleep here." Marm happily removes the scarf around her neck and loosens her outfit in front of him. She gently puts Gome on her bare chest and smiles to Hyunkel. "I don't want it to be captured again."

"Sometimes you are not an angel..." He smiles, enjoys looking at what catch his immediate attention. And he pulls her closer to him, circles her halfnaked body in his arms. "Can you leave your clothes this way for a liltle while?"

"Yes, I can..." Marm finds her heart beats fast. She eyes on him with hesitation before kissing him on the cheek.

"What is this?" He asks.

"I don't know." Marm faces herself into his chest, "What are we doing?"

"We shouldn't be doing anything." He forces himself saying this and helping her to put on the outfit. "Do you really want to keep that flying creature...there?"

"Yes" Marm is happy with the decision.

When Marm is ready, he helps her to stand up and they are heading back to the Underground Castle.

"I know I forget everything quickly." Walking behind him, she says. "But I can always feel you being by my side. Who are you?"

"No point to tell... You will forget anyway."

"Then you can keep reminding me."

"Remind me to remind you." He replies.

As Marm bursts into smiles, he steps closer and whispers to her ear, "I'm Hyunkel."

"Hyunkel, Hyunkel." Marm murmurs to herself. She likes his name.

"You have more important things to remember." He shows her the magic gun. "This is yours."

"Wow..." Another beautiful smile is on her lips, pleasing him more than she can ever know.

"I'm keeping it for a while before returning to you."

"Ok. Remember to return it to me."

...

"Come in, be careful."

They are already back to the Castle. _Time flies._ He watches her steps with concern before deciding to hold her hand and lead her from here.

The further they walk, the darker the area becomes. Marm prefers those beautiful sunshines up there.

"When will we be back to that place?" She stops and asks him.

"All will be fine." He promises.

When they keep walking for a little more, Marm's mind has become completely blank. The memory of a beautiful autumn afternoon spent with him at the riverside no longer exists for her. She quietly follows the man in front of her. She knows him, although having no idea who he is.

"Hyunkel sama, Dai and his company are on the way. They will reach here in a couple of hours."

"Same plan. Lure them to the arena, keep them away from the maze."

He sees the skeleton soldier who informed him about Marm earlier among the force. "You, follow me."

Hyunkel takes Marm and the skeleton soldier into the maze where hundreds of prison cells are located. He knows exactly which one is for Marm.

The moment steps into the small and dark corridor, Marm immediately dislikes the place.

"Why are we here?"

"You will find wind blowing from this side along the corridor. Then you will see a small passageway up there." He says calmly, "Follow direction of the wind and you will go to the place where sunshine is."

He knows, for someone who is as smart as Marm _when she is healed_ , figuring out a connection between the wind and the exit is not a problem. But incase she can't get the idea, she will act accordingly based on this intuition that he is creating for her.

"Walk toward the wind?" Marm asks Hyunkel.

"Yes. Will you?"

"Why should I?" Marm doesn't like this place at all. It's dark and narrow. _Not interested_.

"So you can reunite with your friends and the sunshine that you like." He walks her into the prison cell without her notice.

Marm is confused. "Friends...?" and she is stunned, seeing him holding a gun and aiming at her.

"Don't be scared, Marm, this will be fast."

 _Marm?_

Light coming from the gun is so bright and its pressure is so strong that Marm loses balance. Before falling down, Marm is hardly conscious. Shortly she feels surrounded by an aura. Somewhere from her memory, she remembers this must come from a kind of heal spell, a strong one that even her mother and Matoriv can't conduct. Among all mages she has ever known, only Avan sensei is capable of... This is Behoma.

Marm...

The first thing she sees are his gentle eyes.

"I'm alive?"

"Yes, you are... Remember who am I?" He looks very tense.

"No.." Marm looks at him and shakes her head.

That definitely disappoints him.

"You have to remind me to remind you." Marm bursts into smiles.

"Seriously..." Hyunkel immediately realises Marm is teasing him, yet he can't stop himself from embracing her tightly, he can't help feeling happy and relieved. "Remember everything?" He checks again.

Marm nods. Yes, she does. She was attacked by hundreds of soldiers in this Immortal Force and she couldn't win the battle. She remembers his dark power inside her, seemed healing her but gradually eating out her mind. She remembers Hyunkel taking care of her, talking to her more than anybody believe he would. She remembers they read a book together and had a good time along the river side. She remembers the Underground Castle and the first kiss, she remembers they made love.

"Sorry, Marm. I never expect you to get hurt in this place."

"It's Ok. You have tried your best to heal me. You know... Behoma? Did our sensei teach you...?"

"Not me. What heals you is this bullet casted by Avan."

Marm looks at the empty bullet with surprise. "But... the only Behoma bullet casted by sensei, I used it long time ago."

After some moments of being not sure how did it happen, Marm remembers Pop took all her bullets a few days back. "I know, it's Pop. I can't believe he knows Behoma spell."

"Him?" Hyunkel feels disturbed. Somehow the idea that Marm is healed by Avan is better.

"Most probably. Pop helped me to put spells into all bullets. I'm not good at magic casts."

"Marm, you are not that strong as others. Why do you insist in risking your life joining Dai?"

"I can become better. When there is a will, there is a way, isn't it?"

"Sure."

"How about you? Why do you insist sensei is the culprit?"

He slightly shakes his head, "I don't feel like talking about this."

"You don't have any proof and you didn't witness anything, am I right?"

"I was not there from the beginning. When I ran to my father, he was vanishing. Avan stood behind us, smiling at me when I looked at him." With a calm voice, he tells her. "In your eyes and for rest of human beings, Avan was a hero excelling his duty. For I myself, as a son of the Immortal soldier, he was an enemy that won the battle against _us_. Even if he didn't kill my father, all other soldiers of the Immortal Force were destroyed because of him. So, I don't need a proof or witness. You can prove me wrong, but none of these changes my mind."

"Even if it was someone, or something from the demon world that was the real culprit of your father's death?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone in this place was revived when Hadlar came back to live, except your father. If he was killed by an human being like Avan sensei just like others, why is here the difference?"

Marm is expecting Hyunkel to consider her discovery. To her disappointment, it doesn't seem so. He doesn't answer anything.

"Why wasn't your father revived?" Marm insists.

"Because of the way Avan ended his life." His voice turns to a cold one. "You are right. My father _had_ a chance to be revived together with Hadlar and the rest. But Avan did a terrible thing to him, my father was broken into... pieces before vanishing. So he wasn't able to be back."

"No... what I mean is..."

"This is what the truth means."

From his furious look that show hatred and coldness, Marm knows no point keep talking to him on the matter. He is more determined than she thought, his bonding with the demon world is stronger than her biggest assumption.

"I understand now." She gets out of his embrace and tries to stand up on her own.

"What do you understand?"

"You have already given _my_ sensei a death sentence from the beginning. It's just a natural decision for you, just like the way you belong to the demon world."

"I have told you a lot of times. Don't..."

Seeing Marm's eyes turn red and her shoulder trembling, he can't complete the sentence.

Marm is not able to control emotions. Stronger than her anger and disappointment, something in her heart has just collapsed. Marm is not sure what it is, but it has collapsed.

Marm wipes tears away, heart is broken but voice needs to be strong. "Next time when we meet, we are just enemies."

"Look here."

Marm turns back and feels a kiss on her forehead.

"What is it now?" She looks at him, feels like he is _him_ again.

"I made you cry."

"You love this demon world in a ridiculous way."

"I have never thought of any other emotional attachment to this place except a fact that I belong here." He cups her face in his hands. She is an angel who makes him happy, lightens up his life here just by being around.

But angel should not cry and angel doesn't live here.

"When you were first captured, you faced me without any special emotions. It would have been much happier that way for you, wouldn't it?" He asks. There is a seriousness showed in his face.

"I don't know. When I first met you, I wanted to discover about you, wanted to approach and understand you." Marm steps backward, she is sad. "Next time when we meet, I won't be able to care for you the way I did. "I'm... afraid that you will be very lonely here and I... I want you to be taken care well. Hyunkel, why don't you join us? I... love you."

 _Do I? How to know if it's love?_

Marm is confused by herself after a sudden confession she made.

"It may not be _that_ kind of love, you know?" He hugs her, his heart is already melted, yet he knows he has to be determined. "But don't love me. I will never deserve your love regardless of what type it is." He kisses her hair without her notice. "I'm going to remove everything about me in your memory."

Marm looks at him with surprise, unable to believe what she has just heard.

"Times I made you happy are far fewer than times I dragged you into troubles and dangers. You were in troubles here because of the unconditional care and love you have for me, not the love of a woman for a man, but a precious one that is coming from your kind heart and I can never value it enough. When my dark power destroyed your mind, I was very scared and regretted. Nothing is more beautiful in this world than your smiles, Marm. Yet I consistently find you worried about me, struggling to get me be at the human side, I even see you crying and getting badly hurt. I never forget how bad did you get injured because of me. I don't deserve all these, Marm."

She stands still, can't say anything.

"If I had known you better, if I had known that you are such an angel, such a sweetheart ..." He hesitates, gently stroking her hair, "I wouldn't have slept with you. But in a selfish way, I feel very good that we did."

"What do you mean by feel very good?" Marm asks, her cheeks are blushed. "If you remove those parts of my memories, how about yours? Will you forget me?"

"Of course I won't." He confirms. "Let me do it. It doesn't hurt."

 _That's not fair_. "Hyunkel, do you love me?" Marm asks him. She looks serious and more mature than she normally appears.

At that point of time, Hyunkel has not known that Marm is one of the most stubborn person he will ever meet in his entire life. Marm appears easy to be convinced, but deep down, she does whatever she wants to do. No one can arrange anything for her if she is not letting them to.

"I don't have any permission to love you." He answers.

"Whose permission? The demon lord that you serve?"

"Permission from people who raise you up."

The answer means more than Marm can understand.

"So is the answer Yes or No?"

"I don't answer."

"Ok." _That's already an answer._

Marm leaves her hands out of his. She finds herself unable to control temper. "You want to wipe memories we had together? Fine. But to be fair, you have to remove them in your mind, too. You can't have intimated memories about me without my notice, you really can't keep those memories for yourself."

He looks at Marm, speechless for the moment being. He can't imagine she will request such a condition.

"The cast can be done for both of us at the same time. I read that page together with you." Marm reminds him.

"You really don't want me to have those memories?"

"No."

Looking at Marm's determination and depression, he knows he can't reject the request.

"Give me a minute."

He walks out of the prison cell. The skeleton soldier is still there guarding as per the order.

"Put them on that table." He hands Marm's gun and spear to it. "Later she may find a way to get them, and she may even break the door, just let her do whatever she wants. Get it?"

The skeleton soldier nods with understanding.

"She will also escape from this place, don't stop her and don't report it to me as well as anyone else, even Char."

"Yes, Sir."

"And one final thing, when I come out from this cell later, remind me to go to the arena. Just tell me that I asked everybody to lure Dai and Pop there."

"Yes, Sir. I remember."

"Good. Your speaking is fine. Keep practising."

Hyunkel comes back to the cell where Marm is waiting for him. He walks toward Marm and can't take his eyes away from her, _cold-hearted Marm._

"Close your eyes."

"Not necessary." Marm says. "Need to make sure you cast the spell on yourself, too."

"Your weapons are just outside this cell. My soldier will help, you have the Tear of God with you and the exit route is quite obvious. I guess there will be no problem for your escape?"

"Not at all."

"We won't remember that the winged creature is the Tear of God, too, since we knew its identity within this period of time."

"Never mind, I love Gome the same. Is there any possibility I will remember everything later?"

"You read the page together with me... If we do something that are very similar to the lost memories, such as same conversations, same intimated behaviours..."

"Great. I'm sure nothing similar is repeated."

 _She is so angry._ That he can notice.

He looks into her eyes for the last time and casts the spell.

Marm is furious at him, but still wants to look at him, look at the way he conducts the dark magic that she hates the most, look at him when his eyes closed, handsome as usual. _But heartless._ Gradually, she falls into unconsciousness.

The skeleton soldier sees his General walking out of the cell.

"When did I come here?" He asks.

"The arena, Sir. Go to the arena."

"What?"

"Go to the arena. Dai, Pop..."

"I see." Before leaving the place, he turns to the skeleton, "Tie the girl up."

"Yes, Sir. "

It feels strange. Anyway, in its simple mind, a soldier is just to carry all orders without asking. It still remembers to let the girl get her weapons like what the master demanded. That's it. Seems like there is one more order, but the absent-minded skeleton can't remember.

...

"He released the Tear of God for the girl."

Vearn is reported by Misuto.

"Disappointed, isn't it?"

"Let me take care of him, Vearn sama." Flazzard is eager.

"Get yourself there and stand by. If he defeats Dai, escort him here. If he loses, kill him and destroy the whole Immortal Army. They don't serve me although they are supposed to. Under Hyunkel's leadership within these years, they shift the utmost loyalty to him."

"Understand, Vearn sama."

...

In the arena, he is waiting for Avan students to come. According to the report, both have already entered the Underground Castle. His intention is the same, kill the boys, release the girl when the job is over.

In the prison cell, she is slightly awaked. She has a headache for no reason. It takes a while for Marm to remember what happened. This is the Underground Castle. She was captured here yesterday.

...

 _Present time being._

Papunika is at its midnight.

More than four years have passed since the day the Immortal Army invaded and destroyed its capital city. Tonight, the kingdom has just celebrated Queen Leona's twentieth birthday. No more ruins and collapses, no more ghost shadows and immortal soldiers, the beautiful land is full of hopes and happiness.

In his house, sensei and friends are having fun time at living hall with drinks and nonstop stories.

Marm and himself goes to bed early. Carrying a baby at the fourth month, Marm can't join the midnight alcohol party downstairs. Tonight, she seems a little different.

"Thinking about the period of time we were in the Underground Castle?" He asks.

"Why do you know?" Marm tangles his hair. After all these years, he is still that good looking, but in an even more manly and mature way. Marm bursts into a smile. "Emmi said she would follow you to hell, didn't she? I can tell her it's not a good idea."

"Marm has already done that and dragged me out of there." He looks at his fiancée with loves and kisses her forehead. "I love you."

"How about Marm of sixteen-year-old? Did you love her?"

"She was my first time."

"I don't believe." Marm shakes her head. "I don't believe it was your first time."

"I meaned it was the first time I fell in love, not any other kind of _first_ _time_."

"Then who was the first time?"

"So sleepy now..."

"You can't change to another topic..." Marm laughs and stops him from sleeping.

Papunika ends its beautiful day in a peaceful, loving way for most people residing here.

In couples of weeks, winter will arrive the kingdom.

 **End Chapter 31.**

 **Related Chapters:** Goodbye, I Love You (I, II) and Over The Moon


	35. Final- The Part When You Are Leaving

**Final Chapter - This Is A Part When You Are Leaving.**

"Are you ok?"

Marm is in a dark room, there is girl sitting in the room corner, her face is covered by the beautiful long blonde hair. Somehow Marm feels so wrong. The girl is not happy, she is hurting herself with a knife.

As an instinct, Marm stops the girl. And out of suddenly, the knife aims on Marm, stabbing her continuously. The last thing Marm can remember is seeing the knife into her tummy.

"No... don't hurt my baby!" Marm is freaked out and gets up.

Their room is in a complete darkness, it should be three or four in the morning. Hyunkel is still asleep, holding her in his arms with a extreme care to not touch her wound.

Marm leans closer and listens to Hyunkel's heartbeats, calming herself down. _Nothing to panic, it's just a dream._

...

They are walking around the morning marketplace of Papunika downtown area. It's a perfect timing for a colourful picture that Leona wants to view.

Normally, their day would start differently, she would swim for at least half an hour and he would have a training for at least two hours with Hyunkel.

The attack happened to Leona has changed such habits. For the next six months or more, Leona will not be able to do any heavy exercise. She has to attend daily therapy, medical scanning, medications.

"The story of how Papunika established starts with our mother river, Papunika river that we are seeing. It is this place that my ancestors landed and founded the kingdom. No matter how long and how great Papunika's history is, to me, everything's grown where it is planted, it is here." Her voice is soft enough for only him to hear. The river lies beautifully along the market and is a strong connection to the place as well as many other important locations of Papunika. She knows Larhalt has already noticed this.

"From a fishing village to become one of the richest and busiest hub in the world, Papunika is fortunate to have visionary leaderships." Larhalt says.

She smiles at him and continues walking.

"Those are success stories of my ancestors and past generations of Papunika. I'm inspired by them. I grew up with ideas rooted in my mind that everything must be planned and done for next generations. I have not developed much emotional attachment to children, but I know, everything we build today is for them. And they must be inspired the same."

He nods. "You are right, we should never look at things for short term and never stop working, I mean, as a whole nation. See how busy and energetic these people are, in such an early morning!"

"Beautiful culture." Leona can't be prouder. "In many perspectives, traders in this market are much more hardworking than me. I'd rather use this hour for morning exercise."

"I'm glad you are not that workaholic."

"I'd remain my lifestyle that way." She looks at him. "Larhalt, what do you think about the monarchy system?"

"It's going well in Papunika. However, I think competition and freedom to vote reflect more of human rights."

Leona bursts into smiles. "How do you get this idea?"

"I grew up in an environment that hardly any option was given to my mother and myself. Competition is what made me stronger and better. When your story is attached to this beautiful river and culture of Papunika, my story began that way. It's where such an idea originated."

"If I'm sharing your view about government system in Papunika, will you support me?"

"You know my vow, Leona." He answers, but he is indeed surprised. "The current system is working well under your leadership, I can never imagine you would like to change it."

Leona holds his hand tightly. "The idea comes to my mind after the attack my cousin and her father aimed on me. I wondered what is the rationale that makes me a Queen of Papunika and not her, as well as not anyone else? When my children are born, why are they fated to take such a responsibility, or in the contrary, will they be deserved?"

"I get it." He can feel that Leona's hand is getting cold, "But you are not quitting ruling Papunika, aren't you?"

"I want an official shared responsibility. I want a separated ruling party that is selected by people's choice, and share my responsibility in leading Papunika."

...

"Awww... What a good morning!" Avan is in the best mood, enjoys his favourite coffee.

"Sensei, can't believe you are able to do grocery shopping every early morning no matter where you are." Marm looks at the fresh farm pick placed on the table, impressed.

"Each country has a different rhythm of life. Most rhythms are at its best in early morning market. That's why Fufu and I have such a hobby. In addition, where else can you get such fresh local products?" The sensei is happy.

"What a coincidence! We also went to the market this morning. These are for you, Marm." Menruru and Pop walks into the garden, joining the breakfast table.

"Orange, peaches, strawberry...?"

"Good sources of Folic, vitamin A, vitamin C , perfect for a mom to be. You have a responsibility to deliver a cute baby...for us to play with." Pop laughs.

"Cool! Since when are you guys fond of babies?"

"Not really. We want to observe first." Menruru bursts into a smile.

"Menruru, you are a paediatrician, don't you love babies genuinely?"

"Because I'm a paediatrician, so I... Imagine you serve coffee everyday, and when you get home, will you still want to have a coffee?"

"Take your time, Menru and Pop. But for coffee, especially Romos coffee like this one, I will not say No." Avan finishes the cup.

"From Romos? Does everything in your life need to be from Romos?" Pop asks Hyunkel.

"I'm not a fan of Papunika coffee."

"Because you are picky." Marm comments. She means something else, only for Hyunkel to understand.

He smiles at her. "Whatever you say, Marm. Still we have to go to the medical household this afternoon."

"Hmm? Isn't it just a physical wound?" The sensei asks.

"I put multiple heal spells to hide the wound at Leona's birthday banquet last night. The wound is no longer visible now and can't be examined properly." Marm admits.

"Does it pain?"

"Not that tremendous."

"Even so, you'd better have a check up as soon as possible."

"Are we going there, too, Avan? To visit Leona?" Furora asks.

"We saw her in the market this morning, _they_ were at another side of the river. She is so pale." Pop recalls.

"They?"

"L&L, Leona and Larhalt. They dressed casually, but didn't seem to buy anything."

...

"The Royal Physician complains that Marm overuses heal spells for the treatment." Furora updates to Avan what was going on in the caring unit. Marm is requested to stay until she is fully received. Home treatment is no longer approved by the medical team.

"How serious is it?"

"Not too bad, but worse than it originally was. And because Marm is carrying a baby, they can't inject any type of medicines anyhow. Poor Marm most probably has to endure all pains by herself."

"Can I come in to see her now?"

"Perhaps after a while. Marm and Hyunkel are having an argument inside. You know, young couple problem."

"What... what problem? They have just engaged."

"Should be fine. Avan, don't worry. Let's visit Leona first and come back to see Marm."

Avan and Furora purposely pass by Marm's room to poke in before walking away. There is something warm and peaceful they can feel from the chemistry created by the young couple, even like what Furora said, they are having an argument.

"You are right. They can communicate with each other." Avan is released.

"Of course they can!" Furora smiles. "They are perfect for each other."

"Now you support their relationship. What have changed you, Fufu?"

"I never go against their relationship. I was just worried that Marm doesn't understand Hyunkel and his dark power. Yet after all stories you told me, I know it's only my own imagination."

"Great. You have already had so many things to take care of, my dear. For Hyunkel and Marm, I worry for them, too. But in the end. It's their responsibility and commitment. They need to take care of themselves and what we can do is to support them. At least now they are engaged, which is a good progress."

"Agree." Furora nods. And they continue walking along the medical house hold toward the Queen's unit. "How about Leona? What do you think about her relationship with Larhalt?"

"Awww... Leona..." Avan sighs. "Leona is not only my student, she is a Queen of Papunika. She grew up independently and brilliantly, I trust her choice. That's what I feel."

" _Feel_? You seldom feel, Avan."

"Darling, if you used to worry about Hyunkel's dark magic, how about Larhalt, he is half human and half demon."

"What?"

"I thought you know?"

"I'm... not aware of this. Does Leona know?"

"Of course she knows. How many times do they joke about his dark power?"

"So what? I thought that's because he has a similar background as Hyunkel."

"Ok. In general, what I mean is, it doesn't matter that Larhalt is a mixed blood. If they can find a chemistry and they genuinely look at the same direction, then they have the right to love. All of us can't choose our origins, so I don't find it a barrier for Leona and Larhalt."

"Avan..." Furora looks at her husband, speechless. And she leans onto him, continues the walk.

"But Leona is a Queen. Gosh... I still see lots of barriers for them."

"Let them face it, let them face it when it comes, my dear." Avan calms Furora down. "I know there will be challenges for both of them, so we don't freak them out, ok? Just be by their sides."

"Ok..."

When they steps in Leona's unit, they are informed by Apolo that the Queen is having a meeting with High Court Judge of Papunika.

...

"In Papunika, the Queen's authority is ultimate. Her Majesty has the right and power to sentence any criminal. In this case, it's a man named Leon, his daughter Ella and six tourists with various nationalities. However, Her Majesty delegates this to the High Court."

Leona is determined to file a case against the attackers. Many of her friends will be called by the High Court as witnesses.

The first jury is scheduled to be in five days time, due to its seriousness.

Barristers of the Queen start explaining the legal procedure. No matter how much he tries, Pop can't stay concentrated for more than ten minutes hearing about law processes. The remaining friends can survive the whole two hours, kind of.

It has been a more than five years since the first time Leona stepped into prison of Papunika. She was a crowned princess at that time.

Today, Leona is paying a visit to Leon, spouse of her late aunt, the man who is determined to kill her.

Ella is Leona's only blood related person in this world. From the bottom of her heart, Leona has no intention to impose any punishment on Ella. For Leon, Leona finds it impossible to give him any mercy. The emotions and confusions, sympathy and anger inside Leona convince her that the decision is right. _Papunika should be monitored by proper legal procedures, not by judgemenf of a Queen._

Leona eyes on Leon as he is walking to the visitor area. In a prisoner uniform, he looks much older than the last time she saw him. There used to be a very generous smile in his face, and a positive energy from him that represent typical working class of Papunika. Today, only hatred and anger are shown.

"Thanks for such a valuable visit, my niece."

"Don't fool yourself. You don't have any legal commitment with my late aunt." Leona's voice is soft as a breeze of wind.

"What? What are you saying?" He looks at Leona, eyes opened wide.

The Queen of Papunika is at the same age as his daughter, however, there is a huge gap between them in term of intelligence. When Leona delegated a High Court to take responsibility of the case, he knew he had underestimated her. Leona is using the High Court to manipulate Papunika government and public. He is sure the High Court is set up to just carry her orders.

Being a spouse of Papunika late royal princess gives him justifications for the attack and rights to inherit parts of the country. If he lost this recognition, he lost everything. Their marriage was formalised with proper documentation. How does Leona void it?

"Brat, what have you done?"

"You should ask yourself that question."

"My marriage is official, I have documents to prove it."

"My late aunt fell in love with somebody." Leona looks into his eyes and tells him. "Having no support from the Royal family for the relationship, she left the palace and followed him to his hometown."

"We did get married there! I have a marriage certificate!"

"No one knows what happened to this relationship of my late aunt after that."

"We got married and lived happily!"

Leona doesn't bother, she continues, "One year later, my late aunt came back to the palace with a baby girl. I acknowledge the baby is her only daughter. There is a chance Ella is that baby girl, a medical check will be conducted for the verification."

"A same medical check can be done for Ella and I, that will be enough to prove I'm Ella's father."

"Even if you are Ella's father, Papunika's law doesn't recognise you as an official spouse of late princess Akari."

"I have a marriage certificate, are you dumb, brat?" The man is shouting out loud, losing his temper.

"I believe you have one. Your barrister have submitted it to the High Court. To tell you the truth, your marriage certificate doesn't prove that you marry Princess Akari of Papunika, my late aunt. The certificate is between you and Ms Akari."

"That's Akari, your aunt!"

"That's not." Leona shakes her head. "A marriage certificate of a Papunika princess must state her royal title. The wedding of a Papunika princess must be ministered by an appointed officer, who is selected by Papunika senior counsellors. None of these exists in the marriage that you are mentioning. Your marriage has nothing related to Papunika royal family! It shows in the certificate that way. It happened that way. You marry a woman name Akari. You never marry late princess Akari."

"Arggghhhhh..." Leon screams and bangs his head to the prison cell. The prison guards need quite an effort to stop him and keep him away from hurting himself.

"Too bad..." Leona walks closer to him. "You are not a good person."

The man is surprised to see sadness in Leona's eyes.

"Things could have ended up better." Leona tells him and leaves.

...

A month has passed since the first jury took place. The case has come to an end. Leon receives a life sentence and Ella is sentenced for fifteen years.

Winter approaches Papunika at its doorstep. Temperatures become much lower, it's a peak period for almost all industries in Papunika before year end, the kingdom is busier than ever.

In an attempt to mitigate the loss of Papunika's well-known seaside icon, Trilda Pavillion, which was set on fire by Leon and Ella, the Building and Construction Authority of Papunika commissions a conservation management plan. They have gone through several designs but in the end, seeing the burned Pavilion under a beautiful sunset of Trilda beach, Hyunkel tells Leona and the team, "We have already had one design, the original."

And his recommendation is agreed immediately.

The reconstructed pavilion replicates the unique original design and therefore recovers the aesthetic significance of the former building. Leona can't agree more.

...

Winter is all around Papunika, the kingdom is still busy, a lot of events, discussions, conferences are going on for Papunika leaders, causing them headaches, stresses, arguments, challenges... Regardless of a hectic role and a body that is in recovery process, Leona remains her favourite lifestyle.

Afternoons of Papunika usually witness dates of a young couple. They are perfect walking next to each other, making beautiful highlights for places they go to: Titika town, beaches, Trilda port, Central park, riverside, marketplace, city hall, downtown area...

Leona is gorgeous with her sky blue eyes, flawless skin and body of a model. Larhalt looks great in his winter outfit and a tall athletic build. They are not merely on romantic dates, they are also observing lives in Papunika. They are in a same direction for the foundation of a civil party that is capable of representing public's voices and sharing responsibilities with the Queen, current ultimate leader of Papunika.

"My mother is a beautiful princess living in the castle. When I was young, I wanted to be just like her." Leona tells Larhalt when they view the sunset together. To Leona, it's wonderful to be kept warm in his arms and have a hot chocolate at the same time, while enjoying the orange sky.

"You are missing Ella..."

Leona leans toward him, bursts into a smile. "The childhood dream is always a sweet one, yet it seldom comes true, doesn't it?"

"I dreamed to be a dragon knight, and I became one."

"Lucky you."

"Princess and knight, we were so stereotyped." He smiles at her.

"Now we are not. I'm a Queen, and you have multiple jobs. It's good that your income is higher than mine." She giggles.

"Another stereotype. I don't mind if your income is higher."

"You will just be naturally interested in business, in investments. You do whatever you want to do, but don't play monopoly games in Papunika. You can play it in Benga." She looks at him cunningly.

"Good idea..." He nods.

And they laugh together.

The wind of winter blows, telling her that she needs more warmth. Leona leans closer to him and has him embrace her fully.

"Ella should have grown up in Papunika palace as a princess just like me. It's not her fault that her father took her away after the death of my aunt. I even forgot her existence during years."

"Many wrong things happened in the past have already become the truths. How we take them in the time being will change their futures." He holds her hands in his. "You have to forget the idea that you are related to any misfortune happened in Ella's life. You were just a child when she was taken away from the palace. Your ways and hers were split a long time ago. Nobody can say that you are fortunate to grow up as a princess of Papunika, all know you work hard and smart to fulfil your role. When Ella is released, your pathways will cross each other again, if you find it should be that way."

"I love you." She says softly and smiles at him.

And they exchange a sweet and delicate kiss.

"I will recognise the princess title for Ella. That belongs to her." Leona tells Lafhalt.

"And she will be the first princess in this world that is imprisoned?"

"Yes. Equality before the law."

"Agree." He kisses her forehead and embraces her tighter. "We should view the sunset from the coffee premise. It's getting too cold for you now."

"But I like it here." She giggles.

"You always prefer ways that are less safe."

"What do you mean? You prefer it that way, too." Leona murmurs.

Seeing her blushed cheeks, he realises what is in her mind. "I don't mean _that_. I refer to your decision, your thinking, and now you make me only thinking about our _preference_." He shakes his head.

"I bet you think about it several times a day." Leona wraps her hands around his neck and plays with his hair.

"Not _only_ several times." He admits before kissing her deeply.

"Larhalt..."

"Yes?"

"Show me your demon transformation."

"You have seen me in that form, when we first met."

"I know, but I don't remember."

"Look here."

And she looks at him.

He is quite a handsome demon who has a typical pairs of demon ears and rather pale skin. His body build has no difference from the human form. The gleams in his hazel eyes are the same. Leona kisses him, feeling happy when realising how unchanged their feelings are.

"Which is your true form, the human or the demon?" Leona cups his face in her hands.

"Both of them. I'm a mixed." He smiles. "What is your preference?"

"No preference" Leona shakes her head in a cute way. "But...I want to _try_ with the demon form, sometimes." Her cheeks are blushed, she admits shyly.

"Hey, Leona, Larhalt!"

It's a familiar voice, and they recognise Pop and Menruru are in another side of bridge.

"I'm going to be a father! Menruru is having my baby!" Pop shouts out loud until all passengers can hear, but the dad and mom to be don't bother attention they create to the crowd. They are definitely flying over the moon.

"Congrats!" Leona shouts back and Larhalt gives them a thumb up.

Then they quickly cross the bridge to meet up with Pop and Menru.

"Wonderful news!"

"You guys surprise me! Didn't you concern about timing and all?" Larhalt laughs.

"We have a lot of free time when being in Papunika, so..." Pop honestly admits when Menruru gets so shy.

"Let's have a celebrate drink inside the bar. Call Hyunkel and Marm to join us!" Pop says. "Yay! We have to announce the news to Avan sensei, dad and mom, grandma, Matoriv, Crocodile... too."

When Larhalt is getting drinks for them and Pop is busy on the phone, Menru finds it the best time to tell Leona the future that she saw in the birthday banquet.

"You look so worried, Menruru, what happened? Where are the beautiful smiles you have just now?" Leona asks.

"You future in a few years time has crossed my mind, I still remember parts of it."

"Is it what worries you? Is it a bad one?"

Menru nods. "In a few years time_"

Leona covers Menru's mouth, stopping her friend from revealing anything.

"Why, Leona?"

"The person I really love has just told me, many wrong things happened in the past have already become the truths. The way we deal with them in the present will change their futures. I definitely agree with him on this. So, I will choose to go through that bad future when it arrives, make it my past and change its own fate."

"You believe you can do that?"

"Yes. And I will not be alone, I know."

Menruru hugs Leona. "Thanks for giving me another perspective to view the matter. I'm quite released now, Leona."

"Is that why you have been worried for months?"

"Yes... so I eat a lot, and I have lots of sex with Pop... so he fathers the baby sooner than our plan."

Leona can't stop laughing. "Love you, Menru! But I won't take responsibility of this, ok?"

"Marm and Hyunkel, you are late! Here are drinks of punishment. Hyunkel, will you drink for Marm?" Pop greets the friends from the doorstep.

"There are only drinks for congratulations tonight, no punishment." Marm says, "Congrats guys!"

"The dad-to-be must drink the most." Leona laughs.

"Two dads-to-be here."

"Perhaps three, who knows!"

"Hey, shut up..."

Many and many years later, Leona still remembers, the winter of Papunika that year was freezing, but everybody felt so warm.

...

"Are you ok?"

Marm is in a dark room, there is girl sitting in the room corner, her face is covered by the beautiful long blonde hair. Somehow Marm feels so wrong. The girl is not happy, she is hurting herself with a knife.

As an instinct, Marm stops the girl. And out of suddenly, the knife aims on Marm, stabbing her continuously. The last thing Marm can remember is seeing the knife into her tummy.

Marm gets up, freaked out, panicking and trembling.

She has this dream repeated every night for the past one month. Up to now, her wound has recovered well and pains are gone, but the fear that life of her baby will be taken away has become a real obsession.

So Marm is here today, prisoner for women, to question Ella.

"I know why are you coming. The dream is bothering you, isn't it?"

"Why does it keep repeating? Is it a..."

"Yes, Marm, it's a _curse_." Ella nods. "The short sword of Papunika that I used is cursed by my father. I'm sorry, I needed to stab you to escape. I...couldn't remember that the sword is cursed."

Marm is stunned. Her heart seems to be frozen, and then broken into pieces.

"Why curse on my child?"

Ella is surprised. "Your dream shows it happens that way? Perhaps the curse can't touch you because of your magic power, are you a mage? So it targets on a more vulnerable living being. I regret to say there is no way to avoid such tradegy."

"I don't believe this." Marm shakes her head, feeling difficult to breathe.

"Or... there is! Yes, there is... kind of."

"What is it? Tell me!"

...

In the last month of the year, among the winter season of pure white snows, an engagement party of Marm and Hyunkel is organised beautifully in Mic Dazel resort. The gorgeous couple receive blessings and congratulations from hundreds of guests.

Snowflakes are romantically flying outside the windows, the sky is lighted up by thousands of stars, the ballroom is enchanted with sparkling crystal lights, silver and white with crystal accents has added serious glamour to the night, all make it one of the most glamourous parties ever in Papunika winter.

Hyunkel, in the tailored white suit, is at his best look ever and Marm, even in the middle of the second trimester, shows up like a goddess in her chiffon maxi dress that reveals parts of her beautiful legs, long and slender, her breasts, plump and perky. Marm's gorgeous face and angelic smiles are breathtaking, her fiancé can't take his eyes away from her.

They have a fun party till late night with family, friends, colleagues, partners. Hyunkel takes all drinks for Marm. They kiss alot, by forces of guests and by their own passions.

"I can't wait seeing you in the wedding gown and walking to me along the aisle." His arm wraps around her body and he is caressing her beautiful face. They are still in the party, guests are happily dancing around them.

"Maybe four years later?" Marm holds him tight and tells him.

"Why so long? Make it in one-year time, when our baby is strong enough."

"I want to have the second baby as soon as possible." Marm smiles.

"Oh..." He doesn't expect Marm to be this excited for children. "Tell me, how can I say no to Marm?"

"Thank you." Marm hugs him completely, "To me, we have already got married tonight."

"Don't cry, love." Hyunkel wipes her tears gently. "I want to make you cry later, on our bed." He smiles cunningly.

They make love passionately that night. He can't hold back as Marm is more beautiful and seductive in the engagement party than ever.

They are naked on the bed and he is deeply asleep, circling Marm in his arms. Marm leans close to him, listens to his heart beat. She is fully awaked, can't love him and the baby enough.

Nobody knows that Marm is cursed by the most ancient spell that Leon put on the short royal sword of Papunika. Through Ella's recommendation, Marm has temporarily delayed the curse affect.

 _"Four-year is the longest time you can postpone."_ Ella said. _"By end of the forth year, the curse will be free. If you are not carrying any baby at that time, it will target on yourself."_

So Marm knows, the same nightmare won't come back anymore. Their baby will be born healthy. If Hyunkel and her are lucky, they can have one more baby before the timeline of four years.

 _After that..._ Marm kisses Hyunkel when he is asleep, with the thinking running in her mind. _After that... It's the part when I have to leave._

 **The End.**

 **P.S:**

Dear all,

Thanks for your supports. For Papunika Story, it's about everything that happens in Papunika (even the flashback of Hyunkel and Marm in the Immortal Army).

Compared to the beginning of the story, our characters have developed their relationships, their careers, their new perspectives of life and have moved on in certain ways.

The new endeavours of them will not only happen in Papunika anymore because some will move to Romos, Teran and Benga. Hence, what happen next will be more suitable to be continued in new story that I'm writing.

See you soon!

Thanks very much!

XOXO


	36. Prequel: The Beginning Of Love (I)

_"I'm going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees. I am going to close my eyes and listen."^_

 **Prequel: The Beginning Of Love (I)**

Blooming gardens provide a backdrop to all breathtaking sceneries.

Beautiful drive ways heading to thousands of natural rendezvous are savoured in sweet scent of blossom.

Almost half of world's apples are produced here, along with apricots, plums, cherries and pears.

This is Papunika, kingdom of the most sophisticated, the most elegant.

Its North River locates one of the nation's oldest bridges and is where visitors can stroll through acres of blooming peonies for an amazing garden trail.

Marm, together with all friends, is having a delightful party here, by the peaceful riverside.

Such a wonderful place.

Such a wonderful weather.

Such a... supposed-to-be wonderful night.

Under the starry sky, looking at an engagement ring in her slender finger, she feels lost.

Three hours ago, this place was filled with beautiful sunset colors. Menruru and herself still had no idea of what was going on when a huge group of friends greeting them once they stepped in the party area.

And Pop showed up in front of both of them. On his knee, he proposed.

Perhaps he said "Menru, Marm, will you marry me?", perhaps it was "Marm, will you marry me?"

Marm doesn't remember that part clearly.

She remembers Menruru said Yes and seeing Pop and Menru hugging each other. She remembers the group of friends excitedly cheered them up. She remembers all eyed on her and the atmosphere changed to a slightly awkward one, all were waiting for her response, all were expecting a Yes. She remembers seeing how hopeful Pop was. She remembers seeing Hyunkel among the crowd and his eyes showed no special emotions. Next to him was Emmi.

And she remembers she said Yes.

The party has been going on for hours. It seems to her that Hyunkel drinks more than usual. What is he talking to Larhalt? Marm wonders. Sometimes Emmi is by his side, they look happy being together. Of course, they make a good couple.

...

 _Wine is making me more outspoken. It's good that everyone has settled down, eventually._

"Bottoms up, Hyunkel!"

"Ok..."

 _What is Larhalt talking to me? What am I answering him? Whatever._

...

Leona has already fallen asleep inside the bungalow. Menru, Pop and others are still drinking with Marm. She hears friends talking about her upcoming marriage, which is scary. Uncontrollably, she sneaks a look at Hyunkel.

There is nothing special from him. He only takes a sip of wine when catching the look in her eyes.

 _Wedding? Soon they will have one. Why does she look passive for the whole night? I am far from being happy. I have been avoiding the heart pain. But why is it still this hurtful?_

...

The stars are shining down and the night turns into its complete silence. Everyone has been asleep, both indoor and outdoor. Having a tough time, Marm decides to take a walk and bring blankets to people who are at outdoor areas. Temperature at riverside will reduce when the night falls deeper.

Crocodile, Hym (does he need a blanket?), Chiu, Pop, Larhalt, Nova, Lonberk, Apolo, Akim, Matoriv, Bradat...

Where is he?

Marm walks past their bungalow to look for Hyunkel.

It's not difficult to find him. He is sleeping on the lawn, a few steps away from the gate.

Once seeing him, the wind seems to be more tender, the night seems to be more peaceful and for the first time since this party's ever started, she gets her balance back.

Marm would like to explore all feelings that are held in between of him and her.

For she has no more time. Once tomorrow comes, she should focus her feeling on another person.

 _"Marm, there are two kinds of love, the one you give to everybody and the one you keep for yourself."_

She remembers the definition of love that he explained to her once.

 _That's your idea about love, how sweet._ Marm gently puts the blanket on Hyunkel, smiles at him and murmurs, "Can I give you that personal love of mine?"

"What are you saying? Isn't your personal love given to Pop?"

His voice freaks her out. She catches his eyes and they are serious, he doesn't look like he is drunk at all.

"I... I..."

Speechless.

Marm is not someone who is quick at changing topics. She looks away and weakly replies, "I thought you are sleeping. Were you pretending to be asleep?"

"I don't pretend anything, Marm." He gets up.

The way he calls her name is breathtaking for her.

But he is not aware of it. He continues the conversation with his deep and warm voice. "We seldom have any private time."

"I have wanted to talk to you for so many times, but I never had any chances."

He chuckles after hearing her reply. That surprises Marm because he never acts this way.

And to her next surprise, he wraps his arms around her shoulder, pulling her into to him, so close that Marm can feel his warm breath next to her ear, and the heat of his body transfers to hers. Marm's heart is pounding crazily.

"You the foolish. I have been by your side the most I can and now you conclude you never had any chance? I wonder how can Emmi make it several times ... a day to meet me?" He laughs. As if he is mimicking Marm.

"I'm not Emmi san. I..."

"Are you too innocent or am I never your concern?"

"Don't get angry at me..." Marm's voice turn soft.

"That's why it's so hurtful." He realises.

His conclusion stuns her.

"I have been hiding such pains in my heart. Because that is not something I want to be distracted by during the battle. But today, you should know that it hurts my heart to see Pop and you... This is the truth." He holds her more tightly and pulls Marm into his chest. Marm can feel strength from each of his fingers.

"Do you think... you are jealous with Pop?"

"Foolish."

"What foolish? You've never talked to me this way before. Why..." Marm looks at him with a temper. Her body is heated by the tightness of his embrace. No men has ever done this to her without being beaten. But now when it's Hyunkel, she is melted by his touch.

"Is it your innocence or your ignorance that blocks your eyesight, so you don't realise how much I concern about you? I will give that culprit a prize."

"I never ignore your care and I know you love me as a friend, probably a close friend. I'm just a normal girl, what else should I expect from your concern?"

"You consider yourself a normal girl? Look here."

She looks at him, willingly.

"What about this beautiful face and sensuous body? They drive me crazy. You attract people easily by your physical appeals."

"Hyunkel... don't say something like this." Her cheeks turn red. She weakly covers her breasts although she knows it's of no use. His eyes are still on them.

And he looks at her, looks into her eyes that he falls in love with. The wind breezes slightly, moves her hair and its lovely scent to his sense. He really wants to touch her more.

"Sure...Forget your look." He gives in. "I see all of them clearly - your courage, your pure heart, your intelligence, independence, vulnerability and even your foolishness. I don't know why can I feel you but not anyone else? What is this if it's not the love I have for you."

"You are drunk." Marm tells him softly. "When you awake, you will forget this conversation."

She never ignores a fact that he has a girlfriend and it's Emmi.

That's why he must be drunk.

"I can't make you happy, but it's good to see happiness coming from your smile thanks to Pop. When you took his proposal, I know that's the way it should be. You will keep smiling and I love it." Hyunkel still holds her in his lab, spreading his words into her ears with a warm, soft voice that only she can hear.

"Yes, I know." - You can't you make me happy because you have already loved Emmi. There is no more space for me.

Such a fact saddens Marm the most when it's confirmed by him.

He only looks at her without saying anything anymore.

"Except it's true that you can't make me happy, the rest are alcohol talking." Marm says.

"They are not."

"Let's see if you will rememeber anything when you get up tomorrow morning."

"I will." He nods. "And for now..."

Marm eyes on him nervously.

"Go to sleep, sweetheart." He smiles, stroking her hair and getting her laid down on the lawn, covering her with the blanket she brought for him.

"Hyunkel, you want us to sleep together?" Marm looks at him.

This is going to be crazy. Everyone will catch them the next morning.

Marm can walk him to the garden where other guys are sleeping. Marm can come back to the bungalow and have a warm sleep on the comfortable bed.

But she wants to be drunk just like him. So it will become an excuse to stay here.

Marm willingly lets him lean in her, his strong arms wrap around her, giving her the warmth and security. Marm feels the heartbeats of him and the firmness of his muscles, the heat of his skin.

"I lose my mind because of you." She whispers.

"It's ok to lose your mind sometimes." Hyunkel says. He can't talk more, he is already too sleepy.

And he falls asleep, hugging her entirely.

In his embrace, Marm moves slightly, trying to reach his lips.

The first kiss given to him tastes nice enough for an inexperienced her.

 _Good night, Hyunkel._

Marm hides her face in his chest, swallowing every piece of him into her memory.

 _I hope you will tell me all these when you are not drunk. But even for now, I'm happy to take what you said tonight. At least you have looked at me the way a man looks at a woman. I'm glad you are not only taking me as a friend._

Marm eyes on the ring in her finger. This little item has such a strong power to make her become another person.

 _That's it, I'm going to be a married woman. I wish I don't have this ring._

Making sure he is kept warm in the blanket, she gets up and looks at him for one more time. Hyunkel is so good looking when he is sleeping. He will always cast sunshine on her. He will forever be a beautiful love in her heart.

And Marm hesitantly leaves him here, heading back to the bungalow.

The night is still very gentle to her, she knows she is supposed to be happy, because as Hyunkel has already said, he loves seeing her smile.

 **End of The Beginning Of Love (I)**

Note:

^Quoted from Anne Lamott


	37. Prequel: The Beginning Of Love (II)

**Pre-quel** **: The Beginning Of Love (II)**

Sunlight tangles through busy spring leaves, striving its way to fall across the adonis face of him.

Grass scents become more vivid and gently evoke his senses.

And finally, it's a great murmur of river flows that wakes him up.

Hyunkel opens his eyes to realize he is laying on the grassy riverside. The scenery in front of him is a beautiful example of how lovely spring is, even in eyes of a warrior.

It is a pleasant combination of hues that any artist will be inspired. The sky, high and wide, is crystal-clear in blue. River is soft, wending its way between water banks that are colored in a shade of green only springtime can bring.

He quietly, lonely, enjoys the view.

The morning is still early. An extreme quietness inside the bungalow signals him that all friends are yet to get up.

In his mind he still sees Marm sleeping next to him, clenching her luscious body into him, trying to move within his embrace so she can kiss him.

What a dream.

When he returns the blanket, he sees a long, silky, pink hair left on it.

...

There is a trip to discover North River of Papunika today, conducted by those who don't reside in the kingdom, including Pop and Menru.

"Why don't you cancel the work, Marm?" Pop asks her. He doesn't think she is having a real job.

"I can't. I have already promised my King to do the best, it's my daily responsibility until the contracted period is over." She patiently repeats the explanation.

"You are doing well." Leona smiles at her friend. "My team likes working with you."

"Really? I'm glad." Marm is definitely happy.

But Pop is not.

Times after times he finds Marm's work a ridiculous duty that government of Romos lures her into. How can they appoint her to be Romos Trade Ambassador, working with International Trade Department of Papunika? Marm has no interest in trading and doesn't have any background in such area.

Menruru and Pop have agreed to settle down in Benga, a location that is convenient for hometowns of all three of them. So Marm gets to handover her work as soon as possible to join the family plan.

Menruru, in between of Marm and Pop's stubbornness, will make no comment for the time being. She quietly eats breakfast and enjoys the lovely hot fresh tea.

"Your Majesty, the jet is ready, we can take off anytime." Emmi comes in and informs Leona.

"Jet? Is it the flying machine you mentioned yesterday?" Pop asks the Queen of Papunika.

"Yes, wanna take a look? It's just landed in the back yard."

...

Marm is very excited to be one of the first passengers of royal Papunika's private jet. Her eyes are busily capturing breathtaking panoramic views of the capital city, her mind is blow away by how stunning natures are, she doesn't have even a moment to rest from being amused.

Hyunkel, although stunned by the amazing machine, is not as excited as his "close friend". However, he has a strong passion for harmony in architectural designs. The passion becomes stronger when he has such a chance to witness the beauty of city planning from a great height and wide angle.

They walk along the administration district of Papunika where Leona drops them off. The buildings of Hyunkel and Marm's workplaces are just opposite each other, they usually wait for each other after work. How simple those days were.

No matter how much Marm tries to put everything back to normal, thing have changed after the moment Pop wore the ring in her finger.

"Marm, thank you for the blanket." He breaks the silence.

She looks at him, surprised.

"You remember?"

Hyunkel is delighted by her smile. "I guess it's you."

"Don't you remember anything else?" She steps in front of him, blocking his way.

"I have quite a hangover, seriously have no idea of what happened all over the night."

"I see." Marm murmurs.

Hyunkel doesn't understand, he only smiles.

"It's still early, have a coffee with me, Marm."

And they go to the familiar coffee shop where all friends usually gather in the morning.

They have their own corner, the shop manager knows their orders, they feel pretty attached to this place.

"I will get the drink for you." Marm tells him once they step in.

It's OK that he doesn't remember. Perhaps it means to be this way. Don't think about Hyunkel, don't trouble him. You should focus on Pop because you have already made a life commitment. Waiting for the drink, chitchatting with the coffee house staffs, such thoughts are running in her mind.

"Milk, again." He looks at her cup.

"For me it's much, much better than your bitter black coffee."

"This is what adults drink." Hyunkel can't help teasing her.

"There is no such definition."

He smiles again and gives her his cup. "Try a little bit, if you don't mind."

She shakes her head.

It's not only because she dislikes the bitter taste. The first reason is that she will take it as an indirect kiss.

Foolish her.

"I saw you in my dream." Out of a sudden, he tells Marm.

This is why he asks her for a drink. It feels like betraying Marm's pure friendship and trust if he keeps the dream for himself.

"Really? What did I do? Drinking milk?"

Marm has no idea that the image of her drinking milk suddenly becomes indecent in his mind.

"You was sleeping in my arms, and tempting to kiss me."

"Oh?"

Although she actually did that, it feels shy to hear from him.

"I can't control my brain during the sleep. Don't get mad at me, Marm." He looks at her gently.

"No, I'm mad. And to compensate, you get to drink my milk."

"..."

"I don't mean anything else." She feels awkward. "I mean my..."

"Your cup of milk. No worry, I get it right from the beginning." He nods sincerely. "Can I mix them?"

"Yes..."

Hyunkel adds the remaining milk from Marm's cup into his coffee.

"Marm's punishment, doesn't look too bad for me."

"Then we should add more milk." She grins.

"No, please."

And he finishes the mixed drink before Marm may change her mind.

He doesn't like any drink that's sweet, creamy or milky.

However, this combination of bitter and sweet is not bad at all.

"You look so funny when you drink the milk-coffee."

"The taste is fine, but only someone like Marm will drink milk every morning."

"Leona, too."

"I said, every morning."

"Why can't Leona have it every morning?"

"...Ok, you get the point." He agrees after a second.

Now Hyunkel realizes he has no idea about drinking habits if any other persons, including their breakfast buddy Leona, including Emmi.

"So what's next after the proposal?"

"I need to inform mom and sensei." She answers. "I'm quite scared."

"Why are you scared?"

"Mom will never support me to get married at this age. She believes in love rather than marriage. This may be surprising to you, but my dad and mom don't register for marriage. However, their love is everlasting."

"Your story can be different. Tell her why you take the proposal and she will be glad to accept it."

"Even if she supports my decision, she will be disappointed to know it's a marriage for three of us."

"Isn't it... normal?"

As far as he knows, polygamy is legal in most countries in their world.

"It's legal, but It's Not favored by _us_."

"Who us?" He's quite into Marm's problems.

"Mother and I, and for your information, I believe Leona and Furora have the same point of view. I'm not sure about Menruru, but Emmi, I guess she is also one of Us. You... think it's ok to marry to more than one spouse?"

"If you are asking about my preference, polygamy can't work for me. I can't divide love equally." He looks into her beautiful eyes, which are full of uncertainties now. "It's straightforward for me to notice whom I love more. So I won't marry somebody else."

"It's good for her." (Emmi). She smiles. "But... back to my problem..."

He gently strokes her hair. _Why is Marm so vulnerable?_

"In men's point of view, I know Pop doesn't only love you, but also respect you and willing to sacrifice for you. However, Menru and him went through the challenge of death together, it's impossible for him to not love her. So under permissions of law, he makes the best decision he can."

"I have no problem with Menru and Pop's relationship. I admire their love."

"That's good. The most important thing about this marriage is your happiness. Polygamy may goes against your belief, but a main purpose in life is to pursue happiness, so it's ok to be flexible in the right situation. We change when our lives change."

"Hyunkel, this is the second time you advise me about love. You love me being with Pop, don't you?"

"Because it makes you happy. So why not?"

"Ok. I will do my best. I promise."

Marm will stay strong with her promises.

She used to promise Pop to do the best in loving him once the battle's over. And she is still carrying on with it. Accepting his proposal is one real example.

"How about your happiness? When will you propose Emmi...?"

Marm never forgets asking about Emmi, mentioning about Emmi.

"Not anytime soon."

In his heart and his mind, he knows this is not going to happen.

He knows whom he loves more, and that's the same person he loves the most. She is sitting opposite to him, looking into his eyes because she is surprised by his answer.

That person is Marm, always Marm.

Everything feels bittersweet when it's her.

 **-End of Spin-off: The Beginning Of Love (II)**


	38. Prequel: The Beginning Of Love (Final)

**Prequel:** **The Beginning Of Love (III) aka The Final Rhythm**

Seeing Marm throwing herself down on the sofa and screaming like a mad woman, Leona, with arms crossing each other, speaks up straightforwardly.

"I don't understand why you said _Yes_ on that day."

"My rejection would make him feel bad in front of everybody. I didn't want to hurt him. I have been trying to love him with all means... as my promise."

"All means, except the way to the bedroom. What are you intending to do now?"

Marm sighs. "I don't know. Why didn't he give me more time?"

Leona can't give any further comments. Observing Marm since the proposal date, Leona is quite sure that Marm may still end up rejecting Pop.

"I can adjust my life to suit Pop and Menru. I can go to the market, I can relocate to Benga. But I never think of sleeping with Pop. I can't. I can't let Pop touch me that way. I may beat him up."

"Seriously?"

When Marm nods without hesitation, Leona walks toward and sits down next to her friend, "How about... trying to kiss him first? Who knows things may change after a kiss?"

"Do you strongly recommend it?"

"Yes."

Marm is a little bothered by Leona's cunning look, but there are no other advices she can get.

...

Papunika's second most powerful zone is the administration district where Marm and Hyunkel are working. This area has been formed since the earliest civilization and is located right in city's heart. Here it gathers high commission buildings of neighboring countries and major governmental departments of Papunika.

Most trees in Papunika are conifer, so are here. They are evergreen year-round, lining up along all pavements in the zone. With branches being covered by snow, they play a beautiful role in coloring the streets to a pure white at winter time.

And now when spring arrives, the trees dress themselves in a healthy green, their flowers are waiting to blossom in next couple of months for summer.

Accompanying each other everyday through the peaceful scene, Hyunkel and Marm aren't able to hold back from falling deeper in love, an exquisite love, yet the quiet one kind.

"When is your last working day in Papunika?" He asks.

"It will be a week before our wedding. Menruru and Pop are discussing the date."

"You don't seem to bother. Is thing going well?"

"Not really." She takes a deep breath. "But when you know about it you will side Pop, for sure."

"How sure?"

"More than a hundred percent sure."

"Whatever the problem is, if you can't solve it alone, please speak up."

"Ok..."

But Marm is definitely too upset to speak up anything. He is not used to seeing such a sad look in her eyes. That's bothering him, clenching his heart.

"I want to get you a gift." It may cheer a lady up, it's a hint from sensei Avan.

"Are you serious?" As Hyunkel expects, a smile is playing is Marm's lips. For a long time she has not received any gift except the weapon from

Lonberk. "Is it for any reason?"

"No reason. You need to tell me what you want."

"Now?"

"Yes, before I change my mind." He teases her.

"I can only think of a lipstick."

"Ok, you will have it tomorrow."

Marm says thank you.

In her mind, she is not only happy for the sudden gift, but is also glad that she can delay kissing Pop for one more day.

"Hyunkel, do you know how to buy a lipstick?" The doubt crosses her mind, she looks at him. "I don't want either bright or dark shades, I don't want gloss."

Hyunkel ends up bringing Marm to shop after work and they end up buying lots of things together.

Marm has fun time eyeing on him to give comments on outfits he tries on. She overhears some sale associates will die for his arms, or his eyes, or his body. She has never noticed how attractive he is among women. Today is the first time.

If she has to pick a part of him... Marm takes a look at Hyunkel and she can't decide. Marm realises she is quite crazy about loving all figures of his face and body.

He is definitely too attractive. _When did it start?_

"Something on my face?" He catches her and questions.

"No." Marm shakes her head slightly. "I have a deja vu. I have already experienced this situation, taking this long look at you."

"When did you take a long look at me and why are you doing it again?" He leans back in the sofa and places his arm behind head comfortably. The look in his eyes is mysterious. Marm wonders if he knows he is handsome.

"It's not important." She takes a sip of drink.

Hyunkel smiles at Marm. "I will miss you when you leave." His voice is warm and is reaching the bottom of her heart.

Marm is so moved by him.

"I will miss you, too. I... care alot, Hyunkel. You won't know how much it is."

"I know. You are the only person who have more faith on me than I'm having for myself. When you no longer walk by my side in the future, you are still the same precious Marm in my life."

Marm shakes her head, "I'm not interested to leave. Even there are other friends and there is Ms Emmi, I ... I want to accompany you."

Marm holds his hand and he can feel a strong pressure in her clench.

"Look at me, Marm."

Their eyes meet. He loves them, her eyes. The way they shine on him, the way they reflect how lovable she is. When he first saw her he knew she would grow up to be a beauty^. His prediction is precise. It's bitter sweet that he needs to let this beauty go. Marm is not his precious angel forever. She will fly away.

"Once you get married, you can't be this attached to me. You will be heading to a new life with Pop and Menruru, won't you?"

The picture of that new life will never come true.

Marm has already known.

Pop is family, is a brother.

Hyunkel is love, a personal love.

Marm looks up at him and the heart is beating fast unexpectedly.

"I was so stupid to ask you buying the lipsticks. I don't need to use them anymore." She shyly returns him all.

"What happened?"

"Sorry to waste your goodwill."

...

Night falls quitely.

Marm seals the letter that is written to her mother before turns off the desk light and walks back to bed. She crawls in the thick blanket. Outside, temperature has become much lower compared to daytime, making her room a little bit cold. Surprisingly, the wooden floor is warmer than usual. Marm ignores it.

The stubborn Marm doesn't put on extra layers of nightwears like what people normally do. She loves the softness of her skin as well as the scent from it. She loves the feeling of letting all tiny skin cells breathe, especially at night.

What a long day.

But it's good when the heart has already known what it wants.

Once she closes her eyes tonight, she will get up with a new day. There will always be a new day.

She can't wait.

"Knock knock... "

Marm is surprised that somebody is knocking at her bedroom at this hour. Staying in the accommodation provided by Romos government, she is supposed to be only person in this building now.

"Who's that?" Marm asks out loud.

There is no answer, but the knocking becomes stronger and more aggressive. Angrily, Marm gets out of the bed, grabs the robe on the way and opens the door.

"What are you...?"

Haven't finished scolding the impolite person who disturbs her sleep, she feels the immediate heat from the corridor and his tall body pushes her inside the room.

"Hyunkel...?"

Marm is stunned by his sudden visit. Her blood is rushing crazily when feeling a lack of distance between them. Yet at the same time she feels a high temperature surrounding the environment. There are smokes outside her bedroom.

"It's a fire! Are you okay?" She is freaked out and has an instant examination of him.

"I would have broken your door to get in if I'm not. Grabs your valuable things and leave."

"Ok..." Marm turns away like a robot.

 _What are my valuable things?_

She can only think of the chain from Avan sensei, the weapon from Lonberk, the knight crown from King of Romos, the notebook of herself. She quickly gathers all items in a bag. Seeing the engagement ring placed on desk, she puts it on her finger. There are trade agreements and other work documents that come to her mind, Marm runs to the study room to get them.

Along the way, she starts panicking when Hyunkel has disappeared.

"Hyunkel!" Marm rushes throughout the corridor, "Hyunkel, where are you?"

Extreme heat is surrounding the whole level, but fire has not reached here, seems like it only spreads strongly downstairs. Hyunkel must be there.

"Hyunkel!"

"Get out of here. The fire force is on the way!" He shouts at her. He is in the kitchen, the door is closed with him inside.

"Not without you!" Marm bangs the door.

"Don't break it, the flame will spread out more."

In the kitchen, Hyunkel is smothering the fire with rug, ventilating the area to let out the gases, it's better to let the gas burn rather than extinguish it, which will cause a potential for explosion.

Marm looks for any possible items to cut off the air supply in the living room.

When her breaths become uncomfortable, she knows there has already been too much inhaled gas regardless of the mask's protection.

"Leave the house now." Hyunkel takes her hand and leads her with him.

But Marm can't hear what he says. The worriness in his eyes is everything she sees before blacking out.

Marm thought a new day will arrive when she gets up from the sleep. On this new day, she will inform Pop that she can't go on with the engagement and she will return the ring.

The fact is, when Marm opens her eyes, all she sees are a strange ceiling, a different set of bed sheet, a different blanket.

It is almost two o'clock in the morning.

Getting out of the room, Marm wonders whose house is she in. The floor of this place is made of timbers, so are windows frames and doors. The ceiling is high, two levels are connected by a classic staircase. Marm's eyes travel around the ground floor, her mind is full of confusion until she sees Hyunkel.

All lights are off except a lamp in the living room. With generous illumination from the lamp, Marm can see him staying up late, reading a book.

Walking down to him eagerly, she misses a step and falls down in the darkness.

The noise disrupts Hyunkel's concentration completely. When he stands in front of the fallen Marm, he never knows it's a beginning moment of their final rhythm...

"You are very fragile tonight." He says while rubbing the bruises on her leg with a medical ointment.

Through his shoulder Marm sees a bottle of wine and an empty wine glass on the table, next to them is an open book.

She is in his house.

"It was a gas leaking accident. The ground level of your unit is damaged badly, so I brought you here." He explains.

"How about my neighbors?" Marm asks nervously.

"The neighborhood is not affected, firefighters arrived just a few seconds after you passed out. One of your neighbors is from Romos Royal Medic, isn't he?"

"Yes. Most of my neighbors are working for Romos kingdom, just like me. And the medic team is here to take care of our medical matters.

"He has done a checkup for you. Don't worry, all are fine."

"Why haven't you slept? Do I trouble you?" Marm looks at him with concerns.

"You don't have to bother." He hands the ointment to her. "There are more bruises on your thighs."

"Thanks. I will take care of them later." Her cheeks are heated, she wonders if he knows how less is she dressing underneath. Marm shyly tightens her robe.

"Hyunkel, why were you at my house?"

"I am bothered by how upset you was." He looks rather serious. "Why do you return the lipsticks?"

Hyunkel hands the items to her. There are three of them, picked by him. "You look terribly sad since the morning. Tell me, Marm, something is not working well for you."

"I'm sorry to act childishly. I'm struggled because I have a... sexual problem with Pop. I'm scared."

Blood is rushing inside Hyunkel uncontrollably.

"Are you forced into anything...? Does he hurt you?"

"No. And we haven't... I'm advised to try kissing him first, and I think with the lipsticks I will be more mentally ready."

"Sure. It's adorable to prepare for a kiss." He nods.

"Yet still... I can't. Pop is a brother to me." Marm looks at Hyunkel sadly. "My heart says No to the wedding. The engagement ring..." She removes it in front of him. "I will never wear it again. I will return it to Pop tomorrow and he may hate me forever. No matter what, I'm responsible for my decision."

Hyunkel's heart skips a beat seeing Marm cry.

"Please just support me. I may not know what I want, but I'm very clear of what I don't want."

"I can never imagine this is how you feel." He wipes her tears gently.

"It's depressed to think about a possibility of losing Pop and even Menruru in my life."

"They are both mature." Hyunkel tells her.

To him, they are infact more mature than Marm in a way that they have a confirmed plan about setting up a family together. Only this peculiar girl is unaware of anything, staying away from adultery. "As much as they will be very likely to respect your decision, you need to be mentally ready to respect theirs." He reminds Marm.

"I will be ready for it. I want a glass of wine."

Hyunkel gives it to her and quietly looks at how she finishes it bottoms up.

"One more."

"No, that's enough." He makes her to stand up. "You need to sleep now."

Hyunkel walks Marm along the corridor and it unexpectedly becomes the longest walk he has ever made.

When Marm's hot body clenches in him and her face leans in his chest, when he can feel the sensuality of her skin, he almost loses his mind and all he wants to do is to carry Marm up, lay her on his bed, make love to her.

He will make love to her and she will know adultery stuffs are not scary, soon she will know about orgasm, and she will be ready to have it again, and again.

He can do that in a world where Marm loves him. In this world, Marm will get mad and reject him. He smiles at his own imagination.

"You need to take a full responsibility because I fallen down in your house and was injured." On the bed, covering herself in blanket, Marm accuses him.

"What kind of responsibility?"

"Financial." She giggles.

"Not fair, Marm."

Even though, a gleam of smile is lighted up in his eyes.

"I'm kidding, my legs are fine, I walk slowly because I am tired..."

"Such a honest person. Thank you." His fingers slide through the soft, shining hair of Marm. "Am I a brother to you, too?"

"No."

"Never make me your brother."

She looks at him and nods. Moonlight is shining on him and he is shining on her with a warm smile that touches her deep inside. Overshadowing his good looking appearance is a generosity that caresses her heart.

"When I see your smile, I think that's a beginning of love." Marm whispers.

Hyunkel doesn't say a word. He only moves closer to Marm and places a gentle kiss on her forehead. He doesn't care which world is this. He is giving Marm a long kiss and both of his hands are caressing her blushed cheeks, gently, lovingly. The chemistry surrounding them is suckling all Marm's breaths away.

Marm closes her eyes to enjoy the sweetness, and gradually everything becomes too comfortable that she falls asleep without her own notice.

Ever since then, Hyunkel knows he loves a peculiar person who won't make things easy for him. Yet she is the precious final rhythm that completes his life's melody, he wants nobody but her.

 **End of Spin-off: The Beginning Of Love (and this is the night before Chapter One of Papunika Story :)**


End file.
